New Delhi: On Saturday, Covid-19 cases in India breached the 2 lakh mark for the third consecutive day. The second wave has led to sudden and rapid surge in cases and now the hospitals and Covid facilities are overflowing with patients putting a strain in the available medical supplies.
India also abruptly changed the rules to allow it to fast-track vaccine imports, having earlier rebuffed foreign drugmakers like Pfizer.
According to a Reuters report, India will start importing Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine this month to cover as many as 125 million people. The report stated that, this reversal in fortunes could hamper not only India’s battle to contain the pandemic, but also vaccination campaigns in more than 60 poorer countries, mainly in Africa, for months.
COVAX programme which is backed by the WHO and Gavi vaccine alliance relies heavily on supplies from India. Reuters reported, that this month India has only exported around 1.2 million vaccine doses. That compares with 64 million doses shipped abroad between late January and March, according to data from the foreign ministry.
The Ministry of External Affairs of India said that the exports will depend on the demand in the country.
Meanwhile, Institute of India (SII) Chief Executive Adar Poonawalla on Friday took to Twitter and raised the issue of restrictions put up by the United States on export of raw materials used to make the Covid-19 jabs. SII, world's biggest vaccine maker, asked the newly appointed US President Joe Biden to lift the embargo imposed on US exports of raw materials in order to to help ramp up vaccine production in the country.
Last year, SII vowed to deliver at least 2 billion COVID-19 shots to low and middle-income countries, with nearly half of that by the end of 2021 but came under the pressure to meet the needs of other governments, including Britain, Canada and Saudi Arabia, amid AstraZeneca’s global production problems.
The SII is aiming to expand its capacity by April end or early May by another 4-5 crore doses. At present, it can produce more than 7 crore doses a month.