Letter to BS: Govt needs to act fast for a rational strategy for Covid

The corona pandemic is ravaging India and the world. The unparalleled race to come out with a rudimentary vaccine is now being matched by the speed with which rich nations like the US and the UK are entering into advance purchase agreements with global vaccine makers. Since India is the third-largest producer of generic medicines at the lowest cost and has capacities to manufacture three billion doses of vaccine annually, it is time the government at the Centre put in place a rational and objective strategy to ensure fair and equitable access to Covid-19 vaccine for everybody.

With surging number of corona positives and some states admitting that the virus has attained community-level transmission, the government has to first set up a national body exclusively manned by experts to deal with the acquisition and distribution of the vaccine when it is ready. Instead of putting all our eggs in one basket — the Serum Institute of India — the government should encourage Indian vaccine makers to enter into licensing agreements with global developers who are at fairly advanced level of clinical trials. 

Ganga Narayan Rath    Hyderabad

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