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 India's COVID-19 case load has risen to 11.69 million amid a second
surge of infections, leading many states to ask the government to
replenish vaccine stocks so they can cover more people faster. India
has reported the third-highest total of coronavirus cases after the
United States and Brazil.
India, the world's biggest vaccine maker, has donated or sold more
than 60 million doses to 76 countries, compared with nearly 48
million doses given at home, leading to criticisms of its vaccine
diplomacy. If supply tightens at home, many countries reliant on
India for doses could also suffer.
The sudden surge in demand is piling pressure on vaccine makers the
Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech to boost
production. SII has already delayed further shipments of the
AstraZeneca shot to the United Kingdom, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and
Morocco.
In a letter to the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
dated March 22, P.K. Mohapatra, Odisha's additional chief secretary
for health, warned the state only had enough doses to run its
vaccination drive until March 30. It is expecting another batch of
the AstraZeneca vaccine, locally known as Covishield, only on April
2.
"We will have no vaccines for 4 days," he said. "Hence, adequate
doses of Covishield vaccine may be supplied in time so as to
continue uninterrupted vaccination drive in our state. Your urgent
attention is drawn to the above issue."
Odisha has nearly 44 million people and its capital Bhubaneswar is
located about 360 km (224 miles) southwest of Kolkata.
The federal health ministry did not immediately respond to requests
for comment on Odisha's letter.
RECORD VACCINATION
Despite the looming vaccination slowdown in Odhisa, overall
injections have climbed to a daily record, with the health ministry
reporting 3.2 million doses were administered in the past 24 hours.
India launched its campaign in the middle of January, later than the
United States, Britain and China.
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 India's total vaccinations are
the third highest in the world after the U.S.
and China, though per capita it is ranked lower,
according to the Our World in Data https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations
website.
The country wants to vaccinate 300 million of
its 1.35 billion people by August.
Other Indian states, including Rajasthan, have also flagged a supply
crunch, even though the federal government has for now advised
limiting vaccinations to the elderly and people above 45 suffering
from other health conditions.
Many states have sought to expand their vaccination campaigns to
cover all adults because infections have risen since late February
after the economy fully reopened and as most people still go without
masks and flout social distancing advice.
Some states have also administered doses to a small number of people
outside the prioritised groups to avoid vaccine wastage as vials
need to be consumed within four hours after opening.
About 6.5% of coronavirus vaccine doses in India are going to waste,
the health ministry said last week, making it vital for health
workers to coordinate the flow of recipients.
India reported 40,715 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, with
its richest state Maharashtra, home to the country's financial
capital of Mumbai, accounting for more than 60% of the total. Deaths
rose by 199 to 160,166.
(Reporting by Jatindra Dash in Bhubaneswar and Krishna N. Das in New
Delhi; Additional reporting by Chandini Monnappa in Bengaluru;
Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
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