Availability Of Covid Vaccines: Government Provides A Clear Roadmap
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
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By Linus Garg
First publised on 2021-08-06 10:16:29
About the Author
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
View all posts by this Author
After much criticism about the production and procurement of Covid vaccines when even the MoS in the Health ministry gave three different answers for vaccine production on the same day, the government today came out with important facts and figures regarding the production of vaccines and their availability in the next five months.
According to the government, a total of 136.55cr doses will be produced and supplied from August to December this year. Out of this, 115cr doses will be of Covishield and 21.55cr doses of Covaxin. The month-wise break up is: August 25.65cr doses (Covaxin 2.65cr , Covishield 23cr), September 26.15cr (3.15cr and 23cr), October 28.25cr (5.25cr and 23cr), November 28.25cr (5,25cr and 23cr) and December 28.25cr (5.25cr and 23cr). Other vaccines (Sputnik V now and others that will be approved and used in the next couple of months) will be added to this tally.
These figures are reassuring in the sense that it means that along with the 49.5cr doses already administered the country will be able to administer a total of 186cr doses by December. This means that, theoretically, 93cr people could be fully vaccinated which in turn means that India would be able to fully vaccinate its adult population by the end of this year. If that happens, it would strengthen our fight against the virus and help speed up economic recovery.
According to the stated availability of the vaccines, India will have to jab 85.5 lakh persons daily in August, 88 lakh in September and just over 94 lakh every month from October to December. Since India has shown it has the infrastructure to do this, the target is achievable if vaccine supplies are as per schedule. The government has now got to ensure that there are no production losses or other glitches that hamper the supply and set the nation back in its vaccination drive.
