Article: UK Covid vaccine supply hit amid rise in cases in India
With a surge in Indian cases over the past week, as well as an acceleration of the country’s own vaccination rollout, resulting in a major shortage in Britain that could delay jabs for at least a month for people under the age of 50. As recently as a fortnight ago, Indian Covid-19 rates were reaching record lows after plummeting for five consecutive months in a trend that led some scientists to speculate whether the disproportionately young country had acquired a form of herd immunity. The UK announced it was acquiring 10m doses from the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer and the key source of doses for Covax, a vaccine-sharing agreement on which poor and middle-income countries are relying.
Cases have started climbing again in major population centres such as the capital, Delhi, and Maharashtra, a state that recorded 23,179 fresh cases in 24 hours – one of the highest daily figures there since the beginning of the pandemic. India’s massive Covid-19 vaccination drive is shaking off a slow start, doubling the amount of daily doses it is administering this week to 3m, putting it back on track towards its target of vaccinating 20% of the country by August. With caseloads rising, and demand for vaccinations growing at home, the Indian government has asked the Serum Institute to keep more supply at home, and send less to the UK for now.
In a pandemic marked by widespread efforts to hoard medical equipment and treatments, India has cultivated a reputation as “the world’s pharmacy”, selling or gifting nearly 60m vaccines to other countries so far, compared with the 37m it has administered at home, according to official figures. Another 38m have been distributed to state governments and are awaiting use.