Video title – Over 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines will be available in India.

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Government’s Big Decision
Ensures Vaccine to all

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If there exists a challenge, then there is always a solution to it. The central government is strengthening the battle against COVID-19 by enhancing the availability of COVID-19 vaccines across the country.

The government is continuously trying to ensure that every arm receives a jab. Dr VK Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog has informed that over 216 crore vaccines will be manufactured in India between August to December. It is also ensured that no import license will be pending and any vaccine that is approved by FDA and WHO can come to India. An import license will be granted to the vaccine within 1-2 days. With the help of these approvals, over 2 billion vaccine doses could become available in India by August-December. Moreover, 35.6 crore vaccine doses have been procured for the ongoing vaccination drive.

Let’s get to know more about the emerging vaccine availability.

Dr Vk Paul informed that 216 crore vaccines will constitute 75 crore covishield, 55 crore Covaxin, 30 crore Bio E Sub unit vaccine, 5 crore Zydus Cadillac DNA Vaccine, 20 crore SII-Novavax, 10 crore Bharat Biotech Nasal vaccines, 6 crores Genova mRNA Vaccines and 15.6 crores Sputnik V. He also apprised that Sputnik V has arrived in the country and will be soon available in the public domain for usage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijLcZ8G84FI – (34:22 – 34:43)

Dr Paul also informed that, In comparison to the number of vaccines administered across the globe, 13% of the vaccines are administered in India. India is the fastest to reach the mark of 17 crores within a time frame of 114 days. The number of vaccine doses administered in the USA is 250 million, while It marks below 50 million in the United Kingdom, followed by Brazil, Germany, France and Turkey.

To reach out to the maximum people possible, the Central government is continuously trying to enhance the availability of vaccines under its new liberalized strategy. Under this strategy, the government has made specific provisions for COVID-19 vaccines.

Let’s have a look at these provisions.

Foreign vaccines that have been granted emergency use authorization by National Regulators of the United States, European Medicine Agency (EU), United Kingdom, Japan or which are listed in WHO (Emergency Use Listing), will be granted emergency use approval in India. This significant decision will also provide for post-approval parallel bridging clinical trials.

To incentivize vaccine manufacturers, the Central government is ensuring liberalized vaccine pricing and is also scaling up vaccine coverage. This step could prove quite efficient in augmenting vaccine production and attracting new vaccine manufacturers.

It is important to understand how domestic production of COVID-19 vaccine is initiated.

To increase the production of COVID-19 vaccines in the country, the government has encouraged Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) as well as private companies to enter into technology transfer agreements with Indian vaccine manufacturers. Besides, two Central government PSUs, Indian Immunologicals Ltd (IIL) and BIBCOL have entered into a technology transfer agreement with Bharat Biotech. Apart from this, one State Government Undertaking, Haffkine Institute, has also entered into a technology transfer agreement with Bharat Biotech. Central government has also extended substantial financial assistance to these undertakings. It is worth mentioning that due to the Central government’s timely intervention, Indian Immunologicals Limited will be in a position to start production of Covaxin from September 2021, while Haffkine Institute and BIBCOL will start production of Covaxin from November 2021.

To attract private manufacturers including offshore vaccine manufacturers, incentives in terms of prices are also being provided. Further, 100 percent doses of imported and ready to use foreign vaccines will be available for State governments, private hospitals and hospitals of industrial establishments. The government is also engaging with foreign vaccine manufacturers like Moderna, Pfizer to apply for Emergency Use Authorization in India. India along with other like-minded countries is also emphasizing IPR waiver for COVID-19 vaccines.

Every possible measure is being implemented to ensure the well-being and robustness of our citizens. We must remember that to emerge victorious against any battle, the most powerful warriors are patience and time.

We will keep on updating you with more information, thanks for watching.