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India to begin one of the world’s largest vaccination drives tomorrow

15 Jan 2021

India will launch one of the largest national mass vaccination exercises in history tomorrow (16), with plans to inoculate some 300 million people, or more than 20% of its 1.3 billion population, against Covid-19 in the first phase of the exercise. Indian airlines have started delivering the first doses of vaccines to Delhi and other major cities, including Kolkata, Ahmedabad, and tech hub Bengaluru, according to Indian media reports. Priority for the shots will be given to healthcare and other frontline workers – an estimated 30 million people – which would be followed by those above 50 years of age and other younger, high-risk individuals. The rollout will involve close collaboration between the Central Government and states. India has also developed a digital portal called Co-WIN Vaccine Delivery Management System. It will provide real-time information on “vaccine stocks, their storage temperature, and individualised tracking of beneficiaries,” according to the Health Ministry, CNBC reported. “India’s expertise in vaccine manufacturing and experience with mass immunisation campaigns has prepared it well for ‘phase one’ vaccinations set to begin this weekend,” Eurasia Group South Asia Analyst Akhil Bery wrote in a report this week. “India has a long history of immunisation campaigns, including its Universal Immunisation Programme that inoculates 55 million a year, and will rely on this expertise to distribute coronavirus vaccines.” India’s drug regulator has approved the restricted use of two coronavirus vaccines in emergency situations, both of which are being delivered to the various inoculation centres ahead of Saturday. One of them is a vaccine developed by British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca and Oxford University, which is being manufactured domestically by the Serum Institute of India (SII) and is known locally as Covishield. Another vaccine, called Covaxin, was developed domestically by India’s Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the state-run Indian Council of Medical Research. It was granted emergency use authorisation as clinical trials continue. The approval of Covaxin was reportedly criticised by some as the regulator gave the green light shortly after asking Bharat Biotech for more analysis. India’s Health Secretary on Tuesday (12) said the Indian Government has signed procurement agreements for 11 million doses of Covishield at INR 200 ($ 2.74) per dose and 5.5 million doses of Covaxin at an average cost of INR 206 per shot, which is likely to be cheaper than what they will cost in the private market. Several other candidates, including a second domestically developed vaccine by Zydus Cadila, are undergoing clinical trials.


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