The new surge in infection in the country has necessitated a step-up in the vaccination drive. India has so far vaccinated 65 million people, mostly comprising frontline workers and senior citizens aged 60 and above. The country has just announced the third phase of the vaccination programme, in which people above 45 years of age are to be covered and the government has set a target of 250 million vaccinations by July this year. This would necessitate a massive mobilisation of supplies.
Even under the Covax initiative, India, as a poor country, is entitled to a substantial share of the vaccine produced by Serum Institute. As a result, about 10 million doses of the 28 million produced under the Covax initiative have been allocated to India. Serum is learnt to be following the policy of releasing 50 percent for export while supplying the remaining quantities to the domestic requirement.
There is a growing feeling outside India that the Covax initiative has erred in putting almost the…
