By Neha Arora and Krishna N. Das
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India has received praise for donating and selling COVID-19 vaccines around the world, but it will need to speed up the pace of immunizations at home to achieve its goals.
After reporting the second highest number of COVID-19 cases in the world, after the United States, India wants to vaccinate 300 million people – one fifth of the population – against the virus by August.
However, in four weeks, health workers vaccinated only 7.5 million priority frontline workers, a speed that would take India several years to reach its goal.
“Vaccination programs usually start slow and then ramp up as logistical and operational issues are resolved,” said Gagandeep Kang, professor of microbiology at Christian Medical College in Vellore.
“In India, we are fortunate that vaccine delivery is not a speed-limiting step, but to meet the timelines set by the government, we will need to vaccinate between 4 and 5 times more people every day than we do now.”
The government says it is ready to ramp up vaccinations starting next month, including using more private hospitals, once identified groups from the general public receive the photos. A government online vaccination platform told Reuters it can handle 10 million vaccinations a day.
The Ministry of Health also says India is the fastest to reach the 7 million mark, although immunization relative to the population has been much higher in many other countries.
Several major Indian states, such as Tamil Nadu and Punjab, have less than 40% of their high-risk people, such as nurses, doctors and cleaning staff, covered, which is worrying the federal government.
New Delhi has urged states to speed up vaccinations after a review found there was “substantial” room for improvement, although the government believes it may be difficult to get too many private players into the campaign.
“Vaccine delivery needs a system due to the nature of the disease,” said a senior government official involved in the trial and declined to be named, citing service rules.
“They need to record and verify the details of the person using it.”
‘STOKING BRAKES’
India, which makes 60% of the world’s vaccines, has donated or sold COVID-19 injections to 17 countries and has requests from five others. However, the government told the http://164.100.24.220/loksabhaquestions/annex/175/AU1411.pdf parliament this week that it was coordinating with manufacturers to ensure adequate supplies for its own campaign.
It also states that http://164.100.24.220/loksabhaquestions/annex/175/AU917.pdf infrastructure such as cold storage and special vehicles is not a problem, while some beneficiaries are hesitant about vaccines.
India has implemented the COVAXIN shot developed by Bharat Biotech in conjunction with the state-run Indian Council of Medical Research, as well as a vaccine approved by AstraZeneca and Oxford University.
However, some doctors and the opposition-ruled state of Chhattisgarh are concerned about COVAXIN, which was approved for emergency use last month without any data on the efficacy of a late-stage study.
The Ministry of Health has punished Chhattisgarh for “stoke inhibition” against vaccines during a pandemic. India registered 9,309 new cases of COVID-19 per day on Friday, bringing the total number of cases to 10.88 million since the start of the pandemic. The number of deaths has increased by 87 to a total of 155,447.
“In such unprecedented times, you need to help dispel any hesitations about vaccines and do what’s in people’s best interests, not vested interests!” Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Twitter in response to a letter from his counterpart in Chhattisgarh.
Bharat Biotech has said the efficacy data from the late-stage clinical trial will be available next month. The government has called the shot safe and effective.
India is also expected to approve other recordings in the coming months, including Russia’s Sputnik V and products from Cadila Healthcare, Novavax and Johnson & Johnson.
(Reporting by Neha Arora and Krishna N. Das; edited by Raissa Kasolowsky)