The Indian Serum Institute will increase production of the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine by nearly 40% in June, officials said on Monday, in a key step to alleviate a shortage that has deepened the country’s battle against the disease.
The second most populous nation in the world has been battling a catastrophic COVID-19 outbreak since last month, which is only starting to wane after killing tens of thousands of people.
Government officials and experts say the only way India can avoid a third wave of infections is to vaccinate most of its 1.3 billion people.
The Indian Serum Institute will increase production of AstraZeneca shot from around 65 million doses per month now to 90 million doses in June, a company spokesperson told Reuters.
Most of the vaccines given in India are AstraZeneca, but local company Bharat Biotech also plans to increase production of its Covaxin vaccine to 23 million doses in June, from around 10 million in April, a government official said.
12% got the first shot
Only around 3% of the Indian population are fully vaccinated and around 12% have received the first vaccine and are waiting for the second. State governments, including in the capital Delhi, have reported a severe shortage of vaccines and some are only infecting the elderly and frontline workers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been criticized for donating vaccines to neighboring countries and beyond earlier this year as part of a diplomatic initiative.
“The possibility of even a second wave was not considered serious enough, and all aspects of the pandemic response were most affected, including vaccination,” the Observer Research Foundation said on Monday, New Delhi-based, in a report on vaccine deployment.
India reported its lowest daily increase in new coronavirus infections since April 11 Monday to 152,734 cases in the past 24 hours, while deaths increased by 3,128.
The South Asian nation’s number of infections during the pandemic now stands at 28 million, while the death toll has reached 329,100, according to data from the Department of Health.
Southern and northeastern states remain a concern
Most experts believe coronavirus infections and deaths are vastly underestimated. The New York Times said the most conservative estimate of deaths was 600,000 and the worst case several times that number. The government has dismissed the assessments as absolutely false.
Dr Randeep Guleria, director of the New Delhi-based Indian Institute of Medical Sciences, said the pandemic was slowing down in large parts of the country but was not being contained.
“It looks like we’ve passed the summit, but there is some level of concern over the southern and northeastern states,†he said, underscoring the need to increase vaccinations.
The Russian vaccine Sputnik V will also be launched in the Indian market next month, according to its local partner, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories.
