Fears over global vaccine supply as India reels from big surge in virus cases

INDIA is experiencing its worst pandemic surge, with average daily infections exceeding 130,000 over the past week.

The spike, which can be seen across the country, is particularly alarming because the country is a major vaccine producer and a critical supplier to the Un-backed Covax initiative. That program aims to bring jabs to some of the world’s poorest countries.

Already the rise in cases has forced India to focus on satisfying its domestic demand – and delay deliveries to the Covax programme and countries including the UK and Canada.

India’s decision “means there is very little, if anything, left for Covax and everybody else,” said Brook Baker, a vaccines expert at

Northeastern University. Pune is India’s hardest-hit city, but other major metropolises are also in crisis, as daily new infections hit record levels and experts say that missteps stemming from the belief that the pandemic was “over” are coming back to haunt the country.

When infections began plummeting in India in September, many concluded the worst had passed.

Masks and social distancing were abandoned, while the government gave mixed signals about the level of risk.

When cases began rising again in February, authorities were left scrambling.

India is not alone. Many countries in Europe that saw declines in cases are experiencing new surges, and infection rates have been climbing in every global region, partially driven by new virus variants. Besides India’s average of more than 130,000 cases per day over the past week, it has now reported

13.5 million virus cases since the pandemic began – pushing its toll past Brazil’s and making it second only to the US, though both countries have much smaller populations.

Deaths are also rising and have crossed the 170,000 mark.