A beneficiary will be vaccinated by health professionals on January 16, 2021 in Pune, India during a vaccination drive in India Covid-19 at Aundh District Hospital.
Pratham Gokhale | Hindustan Times | Getty Images
India reported more than 100,000 new Covid-19 cases for the third time this week over a 24-hour period, as the most populous country in South Asia continues its vaccination campaign.
According to government data, 126,789 new cases were reported on Thursday. More than 80% of the cases came from ten states, including the severely afflicted western state of Maharashtra, home to India’s financial capital, Mumbai.
Since the beginning of April, India has reported more than 779,000 cases, with Maharashtra making up just over half of them.
Local authorities in Maharashtra have tightened the restrictions, including night clocks where only essential services are allowed to remain open. Other states are also increasing restrictions as they become concerned about the possible shortage of hospital beds and doctors.
Vaccine card
India’s mass vaccination campaign, which began in January, has accelerated in recent weeks. From April, anyone over 45 is eligible for their shots. Government data showed that as of Thursday, more than 90 million doses of vaccines had been administered.
According to media reports this week, several states, including Maharashtra, have warned that the vaccine supply is running out at an important time, where cases are rising rapidly.
In response, the Indian government has accused some states, including Maharashtra, of diverting attention from their failure to control the virus outbreak.
“The vaccine supply is being monitored in real time and governments are being notified regularly,” Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said in a statement on Wednesday. “Allegations of vaccine shortages are completely unfounded.”
Proper distribution required
According to Randeep Guleria, director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, and a member of the Indian government’s task force Covid-19, Randeep Guleria, director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, produces enough vaccines every month to help people over 45 years to graft.
“These vaccines are manufactured and there is enough stock monthly. It is a problem that they need to be distributed regularly to all areas, and if states start distributing, they should ensure that there is fair distribution, depending on the demand,” Guleria Said on CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Thursday.
“As for the actual numbers, if you do the (math), the deficit is not there, it’s the distribution that needs to be done in a proper way,” he said.
Guleria added that the situation in Maharashtra as well as in some other states is such that some areas have a large amount of vaccines, and in others there is a hesitation with vaccine and stock.
Serum Institute’s ’emphasized’ production capacity
But the Serum Institute of India, which produces one of the two approved vaccines in the country – AstraZeneca’s shot, known locally as Covishield – has a different view of things.
Adar Poonawalla, head of the Serum Institute, told Indian media that the company’s production capacity was ‘very stressed’. He said the vaccine maker needed about $ 400 million to increase capacity by June.
He announced to the Business Standard that AstraZeneca had sent a legal notice to Serum Institute for delays in the supply of vaccines abroad. In February, Poonawalla said his company had been instructed to prioritize India’s vaccine needs, and called on foreign governments to be patient.
Guleria said other manufacturers making vaccines are being tapped to increase production. He added that India may soon approve a third vaccine – the Russian-made Sputnik V, which is manufactured by the pharmaceutical firm Dr Reddy’s Laboratories.