For now, the government has purchased 11 million doses to vaccinate priority groups
New Delhi:
India has started shipping millions of doses of Covishield at no cost. On the list are 13 nations: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Bahrain, Brazil, Mauritius, Morocco, Oman, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka. But while the measure improves the country’s position internationally, there are doubts as to why the government does not allow the sale of the vaccine in private markets.
Several leading health and pharmaceutical experts, such as Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, have called on the government to allow private actors to launch the drug as well, as capacity is not an issue in India and all government goals are being met. .
“We need to vaccinate 2 million per day n, unless private hospitals start vaccinating the general population, we will fight to keep pace with vaccine production that far exceeds utilization. Unlike other countries, we have no shortage. of supplies, “he tweeted.
For now, the government is reluctant to allow the vaccines to be released publicly.
“Prioritization is imperative in this process and all nations are following it,” explained Dr. VK Paul of Niti Aayog. “If you are healthy and under 50, wait and let the citizens who need you most get it … in the spirit of the public health response, in the spirit of our social responsibility,” he added.
Pointing to the country’s priority list, announced long before the launch of the vaccine earlier this month, he said: “In the first seven to eight months, we focused on the 30 million people, who we have talked about quite often. and we know who those people are most in need. “
Currently, the vaccine is being administered to one crore of healthcare workers and two crore of frontline workers. Next on the list are 27 million people who are particularly vulnerable to the disease: people over the age of 50 and people with comorbidities.
India is the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, even ahead of China. The Pune-based Serum Institute currently manufactures 5,000 doses of Covishield per minute, which adds up to 50 million doses per month. By the end of March, this number will increase by 30 percent, which translates to 65 million doses.
At the moment, the government has purchased 11 million doses to vaccinate priority groups and meet export commitments. Another 50 million doses are available.
A part of this is now being exported commercially to countries such as Brazil, Morocco, South Africa and Saudi Arabia. The export is done to ensure that the precious vaccine, which has a shelf life of six months, does not expire. The current stock will begin to expire from March.
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