Last week, India crossed the landmark of administering one billion doses of Covid19 vaccines to eligible people in the country. With this landmark, India’s ambitious vaccination programme to curb the Covid19 pandemic, got closer to its target of fully vaccinating all of India’s adult population. India’s vaccine manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, vial makers, transportation and refrigeration companies and many others worked hard to reach the vaccines to the remotest of destinations in India. Millions of healthcare professionals then strove to contribute to this milestone! The Prime Minister said that this achievement belongs to every citizen of India.
Since starting the ambitious vaccination program in India in January this year, Government data showed that by Thursday of last week, around 708 million people, or 75% of the eligible population had received at least one dose of the vaccine with over 30% being fully inoculated against the disease. Currently, only those above 18 are allowed to receive the shots.
To achieve the vast target, vaccine manufacturers in India stepped up their output in recent months. Approval has also been given to more than one vaccine since starting the inoculation program. The Oxford University/ AstraZeneca vaccine, known in India as Covishield and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII), Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, and Russia’s Sputnik-V have been approved. In August, India's drug regulator also approved the world's first DNA vaccine against Covid-19 for emergency use: the three-dose ZyCoV-D vaccine indigenously developed, prevented symptomatic disease in 66% of those vaccinated, as shown by an interim study quoted by the vaccine maker Cadila Healthcare. The firm plans to make up to 120 million doses of India's second home-grown vaccine every year and says that the vaccine has been found to be safe and very well-tolerated in trials in the 12-18 years age group.
Almost 90 per cent of the shots administered in India have been made by SII, which has more than tripled its capacity since April. It can now produce 220 million vaccine doses a month and has even resumed the export of vaccines.
Vaccination is voluntary in India. Over 70,000 state-run facilities have been giving the shots for free, but it is also possible for people to pay and get vaccinated at over 2,000 private centres. Several neighbourhoods organised vaccination camps and helped vaccinate not just people living in the neighbourhood, but often also those working in their respective neighbourhoods.
While India has set the ambitious target of fully vaccinating all the adult population by the end of the year, doubts have been raised about whether the country has the ability to meet the target within that time frame. It has been pointed out that the number of doses given daily has not been uniform, with shots are given per day varying between the highs of 10 million doses and a low of 900,000 shots. Another concern cited by the Health Ministry is that a "sizeable number" of people in India have not taken their second dose by the due date despite adequate supplies being available.
India suffered a devastating second wave that crawled slowly at first but suddenly burst upon the country with unexpected ferocity, exposing weaknesses in the healthcare system, with a desperate shortage of oxygen. Since then, vaccination and an emphasis on Covid appropriate behaviour, coupled with good fortune, have led to a steady decline in the number of cases and deaths, bringing them to record low levels. Almost all sectors of the economy have been opened in a gradual and staggered manner. The summer holidays after the second wave saw a mad rush for the hill stations around Delhi and Punjab, leading to fears of a big third wave. However, Covid numbers have continued to show downward trends.
The Finance Ministry's Monthly Economic Review claimed that strategic reforms and rapid vaccination drive have placed the country on the path to swift recovery by enabling the economy to "navigate the ravaging waves" of the Covid-19 pandemic. It anticipated good economic progress on the back of sustained and robust growth in agriculture, a sharp rebound in manufacturing and industry, resumption of services activity and buoyant revenues.
While the third wave of infections is expected to hit sometime this year, the consensus among many public health experts seems to indicate that the impact this time will be less severe than the previous waves. Economic analysts are predicting that a third Covid wave in India would be unlikely to derail the recovery.
Though the current number of infections in India remain low, health officials have been urging people to get vaccinated fast. As we approach Diwali and the festive season, with family gatherings and mass shopping, the fears of the third wave of infections is real. Our repeated message, thus, has to be Vaccination, Vaccination and Vaccination!
