Expect COVID vaccine in a few weeks: Modi; India may opt for local product

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has indicated that India will opt for indigenously developed vaccines which are cheap as compared with multinational vaccine candidates like Moderna and Pfizer.

Modi chaired an all-party meeting on Friday to update opposition about India’s vaccine preparation. This is the second such meeting called by the Prime Minister since the pandemic broke out. He assured leaders of all parties that Indian vaccine manufacturers will deliver on their promise in the next few weeks. “Experts believe we don’t have to wait for a long period to get a vaccine,” he said.

Also read: UK approves Pfizer’s COVID vaccine for mass immunisation

The steeply-priced Pfizer vaccine has got emergency authorisation from the UK and vaccination there is set to start next week. India, on the other hand, is willing to wait a little longer for a ‘Made in India’ vaccine. “The world is looking at India (for a cheap and effective vaccine). Our scientists are working hard while 8 Covid vaccines are at different stages of preparedness in India,” Modi said.

Also read: COVID vaccine: Moderna seeks nod for US, Europe launch

The Centre and states will work together for better and more efficient vaccine distribution, he added.

PM Modi assured all-party leaders that India has the required expertise in vaccine distribution, hinting at using the existing vaccine network of universal immunization for the purpose.

Planners say the present infrastructure and human resources are good enough to vaccinate the first 30 million Indians. But India might need to substantially beef up its capacities if it needs to give vaccines to the priority group of aged population.

“Out of the 2,39,000-strong force of vaccinators of the existing immunisation programme, at least 150,000 workers would be used for administering Covid vaccines to the first two priority groups tentatively from January to March, 2021,” a top government official told Hindustan Times.