Recently, the first meeting of the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 was held to deliberate on the logistics and ethical aspects of procurement and administration of Covid-19 vaccine. The World Health Organisation (WHO) chief scientist warned against ‘vaccine nationalism’, emphasizing the need for an equitable approach to vaccine distribution and deployment.
India’s Approach Towards Vaccine Distribution
India is all set to leverage its domestic vaccine manufacturing capacity and also engage with all international players for the early delivery of vaccines in India as well as in low and middle-income countries. Discussions at the meeting revolved around conceptualization and implementation mechanisms to create a strong digital infrastructure for inventory management and delivery of the vaccine.
Funding and Infrastructure for Vaccine Distribution
The issue of financial resources required for procuring vaccines and various financing options were also discussed during the meeting. Additionally, the group also explored available options for delivery platforms, cold storage and related infrastructure necessary for the smooth rollout of the Covid-19 vaccination.
Availability of Vaccines to Indians and Neighbouring Countries
One of the major responsibilities of this expert group was to deliberate on the availability of a vaccine to Indians once it’s fully developed. The Serum Institute of India (SII), Pune, is in the process of developing about 100 million doses of the vaccine by the end of this year. However, no details about how many of these vaccines will be available to Indians have been disclosed yet.
Vaccine Nationalism and Its Implications
‘Vaccine nationalism’ refers to the practice of countries securing vaccine doses for their own citizens or residents before they are made available in other countries. This is usually done through pre-purchase agreements between a government and a vaccine manufacturer.
Concerns Regarding Vaccine Nationalism
Countries such as India, the USA and Russia have not joined the Access to Covid-19 Tools Accelerator, an initiative launched by WHO to promote collaboration among countries for the development and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines and treatments. Vaccine nationalism creates an imbalance by allocating vaccines to moderately at-risk populations in wealthy countries over populations at higher risk in developing economies.
Suggestions for Equitable Vaccine Distribution
The initial batch of vaccines should be made available to frontline workers, health and social care workers and those who are at high risk of infection instead of the healthy adult population. The notion of equitable access to global public health goods should not be overshadowed by pre-purchase agreements and contracts.
The Way Forward
Developing nations like India can play a major role in the manufacturing and distribution of the vaccine along with its research and development. A multilateral or global approach towards vaccine deployment and distribution is crucial to ensure timely, equitable, global access to the vaccine. This can potentially put an end to the pandemic, if based on evidence of what will stop transmission and protect the most vulnerable groups.
