In the first phase, India will begin to inject 300 million people, or roughly 20% of the total population, free of charge. It starts with 30 million medical personnel, followed by people aged 50 and over and 270 million with underlying diseases.
The Indian government is aiming for the first 300 million vaccinations to be completed by July. India will supply a massive 600 million doses of the vaccine.In just 6 months?
India is characterized by being the world’s largest vaccine producer. It produces and exports vaccines, accounting for 60% of the world. Currently, there are only 2 Indian authorities approved for use. “It’s an emergency”, both of which are vaccines that India makes in-house, namely
1. AstraZeneca and Oxford University vaccine produced by the Indian Institute of Serum, or SII, trade name “Cow Shield”
2. Bharat Biotech vaccine, in collaboration with the Government of India Medical Research Council, the trade name “Cowacin”
However, the COVID-19 vaccination program Of India, there are at least four challenges:
1.Production capacity and vaccine price Currently, the Indian government has purchased the vaccine from two vaccines totaling 16.5 million doses, which is definitely not enough. AstraZeneca’s vaccine makers produce 60-70 million doses per month. Parat Biotech’s vaccine has a reserve of 20 million doses and is expected to produce 200 million doses per year.
The price is almost The price of Astraseneca’s vaccine is only 200 rupees or about 80 baht, but it is a “special” price for the first 100 million doses of the government order. After that, the price might be more expensive. The prices sold to the private sector are five times more expensive than those sold to the government.
2. Even distribution of vaccines The overall health system of India still needs to be improved. Transporting vaccines, which must be kept under constant cool temperatures, can have problems and affect vaccine efficacy. Fortunately, both vaccines can be stored at 2-8 degrees Celsius or the equivalent of normal refrigerator temperatures in the household. No need to cool at -70 degrees Celsius like Pfizer’s. At the same time, the government has rehearsed the transportation and training process of medical personnel before.
The Indian government has also developed a new system, called “co-win”, to manage the distribution of vaccines. It is possible to monitor both data about vaccine inventory, temperature and transit progress in real time.
3. Vaccine efficacy Although the preliminary phase 3 clinical test results of AstraZeneca showed that The vaccine is about 70% effective, but it is a test abroad. Not with the Indians themselves
Bharat Biotech’s vaccine is currently under heavy criticism as the Indian authorities approve it for emergency use, although no test results have been released for the vaccine. The test results are expected to come out in March. There is news that pre-approval is a government requirement to create a “nationalist” wave that the vaccines that India research is as good as foreign ones. As a result, the Drug Administration recommended that Parat Biotech’s kovacin vaccine must be administered under close surveillance. This means that the injected person has become a “lab rat”, and the public is unable to decide which vaccine to get.
4. Export of vaccines At first, there was news that India would request enough production for domestic use. After that it will be sent out. But the health minister later confirmed that the government had not banned the export of vaccines. India’s serum institute is part of the World Health Organization-hosted “Cowax” program to help provide vaccines to developing countries around the world. Initially, the institute agreed to provide 200 million doses, but could increase to a billion doses later.
Prime Minister Narendra India’s Modi said This is the pride of Indians being able to “rely on” the production of the COVID-19 vaccine. Can be used by yourself in the country And aside from the world awaiting an Indian vaccine, countries are eyeing India on how it can manage the world’s largest vaccination program.
Story by Kittidit Thanaditsuwan | Photo by Nation TV
– .
