Coronavirus: India
India's mass inoculation drive gets off to messy start
Grouses over difficulty to register for jabs; some states warn about vaccine shortages
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Patients in a banquet hall converted into a Covid-19 ward in New Delhi yesterday. The total number of infections in India has passed 18 million and vaccinations are seen to be crucial for the populous country. States and private hospitals can now buy vaccines directly from the producers.
PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Nirmala Ganapathy India Bureau Chief In New Delhi, Nirmala Ganapathy
India's effort to ramp up its vaccination programme to cover everyone above the age of 18 from today is in disarray.
Many people were unsuccessful when trying to register for the jab while those who managed to do so were unable to locate vaccination centres. On top of this, several states have requested more time to expand the programme, saying they did not have adequate supplies of vaccines.
Some 24.5 million people aged between 18 and 45 have registered for their shots but it was apparent on social media and elsewhere that the experience has been anything but smooth sailing.
"I've indeed managed to register after an hour or two of trying. But booking a slot is still out of sight for me. There was one hospital available initially for 45-plus persons, but even that is unavailable now. The list is blank," said Mr Ayush Basu, 20, from the city of Kolkata in West Bengal.
"And I want my vaccination process to start by the first week of May at least. The more I wait, the riskier it gets," he added.
India is in the midst of a devastating second Covid-19 wave with cases shooting up exponentially. In the 24 hours up to yesterday, it recorded 386,452 new cases and 3,498 deaths.
The total number of infections has now passed 18 million and vaccinations at this point are seen to be crucial for the populous country.
India has been using two vaccines for its national inoculation programme - Covishield, the domestically produced AstraZeneca vaccine, which is manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII), and Covaxin, an indigenous product made by Bharat Biotech.
Russia's Sputnik V has also been authorised for use and Indian media reported that the first batch is set to arrive today - although details on pricing and availability have yet to be announced.
The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi changed the procurement policy for the vaccines last week, decentralising the process.
States and private hospitals can now place orders directly with the manufacturers instead of going through the federal government.
States have to pay 300 rupees (S$5.38) for a dose of Covishield and 400 rupees for Covaxin.
Maharashtra, the worst affected state, has said it will not start the inoculation drive without procuring 2.5 million to three million vials of vaccine first.
The state capital, Mumbai, with nearly 12.5 million people, has announced a shutdown of its vaccination campaign for three days because of inadequate supplies.
Delhi also appears to be caught in the same quandary with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urging people not to crowd vaccination centres. "We have not received the vaccines yet. We are hopeful that they will reach by tomorrow or the day after," he said yesterday.
The federal government insists there is no shortage of vaccines.
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the states should have more than 10 million doses remaining in stock from a previous distribution exercise.
Another two million are set to become available in the next few days.
India's vaccine journey has been one of highs and lows. It started on a bright note as a major exporter to dozens of countries. Data from the External Affairs Ministry showed that 66.3 million doses were sent overseas until April 16.
At home, though, the situation has been far less rosy as the inoculation drive got off to a slow start with many people hesitant about getting the jab.
India's initial target was to vaccinate 300 million people by August. So far, 15.22 million have been inoculated since the programme was rolled out on Jan 16.
That number is seen as inadequate, given the size of the nation's population which is 1.35 billion.
Questions have now arisen over whether India has enough production capacity as its two main vaccine producers are swamped with orders from states and hospitals.
The SII produces about 70 million doses of Covishield each month. Bharat Biotech has ramped up capacity, making about 58 million doses of Covaxin a month.
Meanwhile, anxiety levels are mounting for those waiting to get their second dose.
