Dear Editor,
India, which is the largest producer of generic drug across the globe, started its vaccination drive in January 2021.Citation1 On a humanitarian ground, India exported COVID-19 vaccines to different countries;Citation2 little did they expect that a second wave was ahead of them.
With the second wave hitting Indians drastically and unexpectedly,Citation3 India is struggling to vaccinate its population.Citation4 India today needs more than 2 billion doses of vaccines to vaccinate 80% of the population (to attain herd immunity) and a shortage of vaccines has hit the rate of inoculation so hard. With the current rate of vaccination being 1.5 million doses of per day, it will take at least 3 years and 8 months to reach the 80%.Citation5 However, the government has planned to achieve this target of 80% by December 2021.
Can Indian industry meet up to the demand to produce vaccines? Of course, it is not an easy task, but yet not impossible. The various possibilities to do this are as follows.
From industry’s perspective, the existing capabilities need to be fully exploited. Central government should also ensure that vaccines are not wasted and provide all support to industries and state governments.
Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute of India, the frontrunners of vaccine producers in India must share the vaccine formula to other leading pharmaceutical companies. However, proper logistics have to be planned between these major manufacturers so that aseptic filling can be operated with ease.
As part of corporate social responsibility, every industry must contribute fund to the central and state governments to gear up vaccine logistics; be it production or procurement.
Sufficient dialogs need to be carried out so that foreign vaccine production is licensed in India.
Research must be geared by pharmaceutical industries to explore the possibility of single dose to provide adhoc relief and safety.
India can also think about buying vaccines commissioned by different countries. Excess capacities in vaccinated countries can also be tapped.
India being a federal system, more autonomy in decision-making is to be given to state governments in taking policy decisions.
However, with few options ahead of us, one needs to sit and wait to see what becomes realistic.
Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest
No potential conflict of interest is reported by the author(s).
References
- Foy BH, Wahl B, Mehta K, Shet A, Menon GI, Britto C. Comparing COVID-19 vaccine allocation strategies in India: a mathematical modelling study. Int J Infect Dis. 2021;103:431–38. doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2020.12.075.
- Government of India. Vaccine supply. 2021 May 29 [accessed 2021 May 30]. https://www.mea.gov.in/vaccine-supply.htm;2021
- Priyamvatha P. How India’s second Covid wave started, what went wrong, and what can be done: top virologist answers. Chennai (India): India Today; 2021 April 28 [accessed 2021 May 30]. https://www.indiatoday.in/coronavirus-outbreak/story/india-second-covid-wave-start-went-wrong-top-virologist-answers-details-1795743-2021-04-28
- Rauf A. Why is India struggling in its vaccination drive? Dhaka (Bangladesh): The daily star; 2021 May 8 [accessed 2021 May 31]. https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/news/why-india-struggling-its-vaccination-drive-2089977
- Chetan B. Drop in India’s covid cases clouded by sharp fall in tests, vaccinations. New Delhi (India): NDTV; 2021 May 18 [accessed 2021 Jun 5]. https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/drop-in-indias-covid-19-cases-clouded-by-sharp-fall-in-tests-vaccinations-2443788;2021