COVID-19: India’s vaccine programme needs a boost

The Government of India has so far provided nearly 17.02 crore vaccine doses (17,02,42,410) to states and UTs free of cost. Of this, the total consumption including wastages is 16,07,94,796 doses, according to data available at 8 am.

More than 94.47 lakh (9.4 million) COVID-19 vaccine doses are still available with the states and UTs which will receive over 36 lakh (3.6 million) fresh doses in the next three days, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

Implementation of the Liberalised and Accelerated Phase 3 Strategy of COVID-19 Vaccination to inoculate those in the age group of 18-44 years has started from May 1. Potential beneficiaries can either register directly on the CoWIN portal or through the Aarogya Setu app.

With vaccines among the main weapons in the fight against the pandemic, pharma giant Pfizer reported a huge jump in profits based on sales of its COVID-19 shot as a growing campaign called for patent waivers so poorer nations can get quicker access.

Among the leaders of that campaign is India, which reported nearly 3,800 new deaths Wednesday - a national record - and more than 380,000 fresh cases as it grapples with one of the world's worst outbreaks.

India on Wednesday pledged billions of dollars to boost its flagging vaccine programme, as President Joe Biden said 70 percent of American adults should have had at least one coronavirus shot by July 4.

"The devastating speed with which the virus affects different regions of the country has to be matched by swift and wide-ranging actions," said Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das, as he announced $6.7 billion in cheap financing for vaccine makers, hospitals and other health firms.

Experts have warned that case numbers will keep rising until the end of May and could reach 500,000 new infections a day. India's underfunded health system has struggled to cope with this wave, with patients dying in hospital parking lots due to a lack of beds and medical oxygen.

While New Delhi and other major cities have imposed curfews and other restrictions, the government has resisted opposition calls for a nationwide lockdown as it tries to avoid the economic downturn that accompanied such restrictions last year.

"The poor have nothing left," Vimala Devi, a 61-year-old homemaker in Delhi, told AFP on Tuesday. "We are just left to die on the streets."