India began a Herculean task of vaccinating nearly 94 crore people above the age of 18 on 16 January. There's no doubt there have been hiccups along the way, considering the size of the country's population.
55.47 crore vaccine doses have been administered as of 17 August, with over 88.13 lakh shots in the last 24 hours – the highest ever achieved in a single day.
Amid the looming third wave of COVID-19, India has ramped up its coronavirus vaccine production, and approved Johnson & Johnson's single-dose vaccine for emergency use recently.
With J&J added to it's arsenal, the country now has five vaccines to offer to citizens.
In an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court on June 26, the Centre had said it expected to procure 135 crore Covid vaccine doses from August to December. This is significantly down from its May forecast of 216 crore doses for the same period.
But do we have enough vaccines to achieve the Centre's promise of inoculating the entire adult population by the end of 2021? Here’s a look at how many vaccines the country has and the production estimates in the coming months.
Covishield & Covaxin: Just How Many Vaccines Are Being Manufactured Per Month?
India has so far relied mainly on these two COVID-19 vaccines - Covishield and Covaxin.
(Photo: FIT)
India has so far relied mainly on these two COVID-19 vaccines - Covishield and Covaxin - for its massive vaccination drive.
The government, however, seems to be unsure about the number of vaccines being produced in the country. Recently, the Centre gave out three different estimates on the production of these two vaccines, in the Parliament.
On 20 July, the health ministry first said that that Bharat Biotech, the company that makes Covaxin, is producing 1 crore doses a month, and it will be ramped up to 10 crore in the coming months.
In the next question, the health ministry stated, "The current average monthly capacity of production of Covishield by Serum Institute of India is 11 crore doses and of Covaxin by Bharat Biotech International Limited is 2.5 crore doses."
It said the monthly vaccine production capacity of Covishield is planned to be increased to more than 12 crore doses per month and production capacity of Covaxin is planned to be increase to 5.8 crore doses per month.
In the third question, the health ministry said the Serum Institute of India was producing an estimated 13 crore doses a month, and Bharat Biotech about 1.75 crore doses a month.
From January 16 to August 5, 44.42 crore doses of Covishield were supplied by Serum Institute of India and 6.82 crore doses of Covaxin by Bharat Biotech, the health ministry further said.
According to the Serum Institute of India, the company is currently manufacturing 11 to 12 crore doses of Covishield a month, with no immediate plans to increase it further, BBC reported.
Sputnik V: Yet to Take Off
Sputnik Covid-19 Vaccine: The first batch of Sputnik vaccine is expected to be produced at SII’s facilities in September.
For the 135 crore doses roadmap, supplies of Russia’s Sputnik V are also expected. 3 lakh doses were given initially.
The first batch of Sputnik vaccine is expected to be produced at SII’s facilities in September. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and the SII intend to produce over 30 crore doses of the vaccine in India per year.
Indian pharma major Wockhardt announced that the company has signed a deal with Dubai's Enso Healthcare to make and supply 62 crore doses of Sputnik V / Sputnik Light vaccine.
Panacea Biotec has also agreed to produce up to 2.5 crore doses of the Sputnik V vaccine. Panacea will then supply the doses to drugmaker Dr Reddy's Laboratories for distribution in India.
Earlier this month, Dr Reddy’s had said it had received “31.5 lakh doses of component 1 and 4.5 lakh doses of component 2 of the Sputnik V vaccine in India”.
Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson
US-made Moderna vaccine and Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose Covid vaccine have both received emergency use approval in India.
But both the foreign-made vaccines, including Pfizer, are facing legal hurdles over the manufacturers' desire for indemnity protection.
The government has not been inclined to give it.
The indemnity clause would mean the vaccine maker cannot be sued in the case of any adverse event.
The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has been trying to fast track approval of vaccines.
Apart from five vaccines mentioned earlier, the government expects vaccines of Biological-E, Zydus Cadila, Novavax and Gennova in the coming months if the approvals from regulators come through and some of these vaccine makers are already doing at-risk production of vaccines.
The health ministry's July-end target of supplying 516 million doses has fallen short, but the government remains hopeful of its course to vaccinate the entire adult population by the end of the year.
The health ministry recently said that vaccinations for children will start soon, too.
It's not clear where the vaccines would come from, with discrepancy in the production estimates and the companies' track record of failing to meet supply targets.
It looks a bit far-fetched, but with third wave just around the corner, vaccination is key.
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