India has approved two Covid-19 vaccines for use, highlighting its enormous vaccine production capacity. Large parts of the rich world can learn something valuable.
The Serum Institute of India is the largest manufacturer of vaccines by volume, founded more than 50 years ago by Cyrus Poonawalla, a multimillionaire. It will probably not only deliver all the vaccines administered in India, but also many elsewhere in the world, once the export is allowed later in the year.
Research by Fitch Solutions this year outlines three groups of Asian economies: those most likely to vaccinate people in priority groups such as health care workers and the elderly by June, those who can do so by September, and those who will take longer. India is by far the country with the lowest incomes in the first group of economies, which includes Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Malaysia. Richer South Korea and Thailand will take longer.
The Serum Institute’s work requires a reliable and large household stock of the vials in which the vaccines are sealed and transported, insured by companies such as Schott Kaisha and Piramal Glass. The existence of the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer helps to establish the basis for a local network of suppliers.
Global supply chains and international trade have actually held up exceptionally well over the past year. There is no need to store huge amounts of manufacturing capacity, and any attempt at even halfway autarky will make all involved – importers and exporters – less prosperous.