India to buy local trial vaccine
INDIA’S government signed its first purchase order for unapproved Covid19 vaccines yesterday, a day after it faced criticism from the top judiciary about a bungled vaccine roll-out that has left millions of people vulnerable.
After a devastating second wave of infections that killed tens of thousands in April-May, the focus has shifted to urgently inoculating India’s vast adult population to curb infections later this year.
The government will buy 300 million doses from local firm Biological-E and has put down an advance of $205.6 million (R2.8 billion), the health ministry said, even though the vaccine is still undergoing clinical trials, before approvals can be given.
“The arrangement with M/s Biological-E is part of the wider endeavour of the government of India to encourage indigenous vaccine manufacturers by providing them support in research and development and also financial support,” the ministry said.
India has been inoculating its people with the AstraZeneca vaccine produced locally at the Serum Institute of India, Covaxin made by local firm
Bharat Biotech and has begun rolling out Russia’s Sputnik V.
But supplies are running low after the government opened vaccinations to all adults last month. Some vaccination centres have had to close down, prompting criticism from the Supreme Court about a lack of proper planning.
While the central government gave free vaccines to the elderly and front-line workers, it left it to state governments and private hospitals to administer doses to people in the 18 to 45 age group at a pre-determined price.
The court called for a review of this “arbitrary and irrational” policy, saying younger people were just as vulnerable, as the second wave of infections had shown.
So far, about 4.7% of the country’s 950 million adult population have been given both doses. The government said this week supplies were improving and it could have as many as 10 million doses a day in July and August, from just under 3 million now.
The Serum Institute of India has sought approval to make Russia’s Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine, a government official said, on top of the AstraZeneca and Novavax shots it is producing.
India yesterday reported 134 154 new Covid-19 infections over the past 24 hours, still high but down more than 65% from a peak of 414188 on May 7. The official case load since the start of the pandemic stands at 28.4 million.