Increase domestic vaccine production

Increase domestic vaccine production

India needs to augment its supply of Covid vaccines to inoculate its own population and that of low- and middle-income countries. India, together with South Africa and supported by others, continues to keep up the pressure for a waiver of intellectual property rights on Covid vaccines and therapeutics, and will work for a favourable decision at the G7 meet in June. In the meantime, India must take take the measures open to it to step up vaccine production.

It can and must do four things: authorise more vaccines, help expand capacity of existing manufacturers, start producing vaccines at facilities that are capable of producing vaccines but do not, because they do not have a licence for such production, and, start production in India of the entire range of ingredients that go into vaccine manufacture, by asking industry to get the needed licences, issue compulsory licences where these are not forthcoming. GoI could also do a timebound buyout IPR of the indigenous vaccines to engage other manufacturers to increase supply. Daily vaccine requirement to achieve universal adult inoculation by October would be some nine million doses. India will also have to resume its export commitments, currently hobbled, for the COVAX facility and commercial contract, at full steam. Exports in April were about 1.3 million doses, compared to 64 million between January and March. The Serum Institute of India is contractually bound to cumulatively deliver 1 billion doses to the Covax facility by end of the year. Similarly, there are export commitments for the Russian Sputnik V that is being manufactured in India. So far India has depended on SII and Bharat Biotech, with production capacity of 70 million doses a month.

The indigenous vaccine candidates in advanced stages—Zydus Cadila, Biological E and Gennova—must receive special attention for timely emergency authorisation. The government must provide support through firm orders and investment to expand production capacities right away, especially companies that source or build ingredients domestically.