THE TALK
India is a vaccine powerhouse in terms of its manufacturing capacity. India’s vaccine companies began engaging with global biomedical research groups and small and large companies for partnerships to make SARS-CoV2 vaccines in May 2020 and had two products approved for restricted use approval in January 2021. Many other products on multiple platforms are in the pipeline. Permissions have been granted for import of vaccines without further testing, but addressing the gap between supply and demand will continue to be an issue for a few more months.
India began its vaccine roll-out in January 2021, shortly after many wealthy countries, but has had issues in several areas of policy and practice. The decisions around implementation, sourcing and pricing have been remarkable in their decoupling from considerations of equity or capacity. As examples, the rapidity of descent across age groups, and the changing guidance on gaps between doses without simultaneous attention to surveillance and measurement of real world performance of vaccines, have indicated a lack of commitment to science based design of vaccination strategies. Solutions must be found, and stakeholders in states and at smaller scales are attempting to rationalise approaches within current constraints.