The Indian government has set aside around 500 billion rupees ($ 7 billion) to vaccinate the world’s most populous country after China against the coronavirus, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi estimates a total cost of around $ 6 to $ 7 per person in the nation of 1.3 billion, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the details are private. The money provided so far is for the current financial year ending March 31 and there will be no shortage of additional funds for this purpose, they added.
A spokesman for the Finance Ministry could not be immediately reached when it was tested on his mobile phone.
Adar Poonawalla, director of the Serum Institute of India Pvt., The world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, predicted that the nation would need around 800 billion rupees to acquire and inoculate people living everywhere, from the Himalayas to the remote ones. Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Aside from purchasing the treatment, transporting them from the manufacturing sites would be a huge undertaking.
Distributing a vaccine across India “will be a daunting task,” Mahesh Devnani, associate professor at the Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, told a webinar on Wednesday. . “
By one estimate, air transport of single-dose regimens to protect the world’s population would require space on some 8,000 cargo planes.
The biggest challenge for India will be developing the cold chain logistics to distribute vaccines across India in a short period of time, said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, founder and chairman of Biocon Ltd., at the Bloomberg India Economic Forum last week. pass.
“I hope that by the end of November we can say that we have a plan” and digital platforms to help implement vaccines, he said.
While a government-backed panel predicts that India has passed the peak of infections and may contain the spread by February, the nation has taken a massive hit to economic growth and Modi has been reopening the economy. Starting this weekend, Indians will celebrate various festivals that could lead to a sharp increase in daily virus infections.
Modi said on Tuesday that his government will ensure that all Indians have access to a Covid-19 vaccine as soon as it is ready.
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