India’s vaccination drive could face production, supply issues: analysts

India, which has reported the second highest number of COVID- 19 cases worldwide, could take more than 10 years to finish its nationwide vaccination at the current rate, netizens said, in response to the Indian prime minister’s boast that the country is the “fastest” in vaccinating its citizens.

Analysts also questioned India’s capacity of sustainable production and supply to fulfill its promise to scale up vaccine supply to as many as 60 countries and regions in the coming months.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that the country is not only running the world’s biggest COVID- 19 vaccination drive, but also the “fastest” in vaccinating its citizens, The Times of India reported.

“In merely 15 days, India has vaccinated more than 30 lakhs [ 3 million] COVID- 19 warriors, while a rich country like the US has completed the same target in 18 days and the UK in 36 days,” said Modi.

However, some netizens have done the math and found that at the current rate, it would take more than a decade for all Indians to be vaccinated.

“And by vaccinating 2 lakhs per day, we will be able to vaccinate whole country in approximate 14 years. This government compares cases per millions of population but in vaccination it is absolute numbers. What a great speed!” a netizen tweeted.

Analysts pointed out that the netizens’ calculation, although not rigorous, reflected public concern over India’s capacity of vaccine production and supply.

Tao Lina, a Shanghai- based medical expert on vaccines, told the Global Times on Monday that China’s current vaccination is faster than India’s and is fully capable of vaccinating its citizens much faster.