Covid-19 vaccine stock-taking: Does India have enough to expand the drive?

Zydus Cadila's yet to be launched DNA plasmid vaccine ZyCoV-D is expected to add to the vaccine supply

India will begin to give a third shot to a section of its elderly population from January 10, besides opening up vaccination for children aged 15 and above. But do we have enough vaccine stockpiles in the country to support a seamless drive?

A back of the envelope calculation shows that India has roughly over 680 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines consisting primarily of Covishield doses. This includes the 179 million unused doses available with states as of December 26, and a stockpile of 500 million doses lying at Serum Institute of India’s (SII) Pune plant.

Vaccination for children aged 15 and