India is reportedly running out of Covid-19 vaccines just as a virulent second wave continues to devastate the country, threatening the government’s plans to ramp up the vaccination programme by the weekend in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.
From Saturday, everyone in India over the age of 18 will be eligible for a vaccine, a decision made by the government as the virus has brought India’s healthcare system to its knees, with more than 352,000 new cases on Monday and more than 2,800 more deaths.
Hospitals across the capital, Delhi, continued to issue SOS calls over acute oxygen shortages, with eight patients dying in private hospitals on Sunday when oxygen supplies ran dry. Many of the biggest hospitals in the capital said they had stopped admitting new patients as all beds were full and oxygen was running out, while Delhi’s Ganga Ram hospital said it was on “beg and borrow mode” for oxygen cylinders used in its ambulances.
High hopes have been placed on an expanded vaccine rollout to help halt the spread of the virus. However, in several of the worst affected states including Rajasthan, Punjab, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, state governments have said there is already a shortage or complete lack of availability of jabs and they had been unable to order more, throwing doubts on any expansion of vaccine rollout by 1 May when about 900 million more people will become eligible.
So far in India almost 10% of the population of 1.3 billion have received one jab, but just over 1% have received both vaccines.
In the week to 25 April, the country recorded a cumulative 89% increase in Covid deaths compared with the week before, and a total of 2.2 million new cases – the highest seven-day increase experienced anywhere in the world. Total confirmed infections have now passed 17 million.
In a phone call to prime minister Narendra Modi on Monday, Joe Biden promised emergency assistance.
The US “is providing a range of emergency assistance, including oxygen-related supplies, vaccine materials and therapeutics,” Biden told Modi, according to a statement.
Most of the onus to deliver the vaccines has fallen on India’s Serum Institute, the country’s largest vaccine producer, which produces the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, known in India as Covishield. However, they have been struggling to meet demand, with capacity to currently make only 70m doses a month. Last week the government approved a $400m grant to the company to boost production to 100m doses a month by the end of May.
Four states, all under opposition governments, said they had placed orders for additional vaccines to meet the expanded demand from 1 May, but had been told by the Serum Institute that no more vaccines could be delivered until at last 15 May.
The Punjab health minister, Balbir Singh Sidhu, said: “There is no way vaccination can be given if the vaccine is not available. The situation is very clear. The centre is saying that vaccinations have been opened to all … but vaccines are not available.”
“They [Serum Institute] are not in a position to give the vaccine to us,” said the Rajasthan health minister, Raghu Sharma. “The question before us is: we have 30.13 million people in the 18-45 age group; how will we vaccinate them?”
The Jharkhand health minister, Banna Gupta, said: “We want to vaccinate, but will we make vaccines in our homes?”
On Monday, Mumbai reported having only three days of vaccine remaining, and said the priority would be administering people’s second jabs. But in Mumbai and Delhi, many of those who have had a first jab have reported having their second vaccine appointment cancelled because of low stocks. The shortages are expected to become even more acute from 1 May, as demand soars.
While the central government will continue to cover the cost of vaccines for over-45s, states will be individually responsible for buying vaccines for those aged 18-45. A row erupted on Monday after the central government allowed the two private companies producing India’s approved vaccines – the Serum Institute, making Covishield, and Bharat Biotech, which makes Covaxin – to set their own prices for selling to state governments and private hospitals.
As a result, state governments were told they would have to pay 400 rupees (£3.85) for Covishield, compared with the 150 rupees being paid by the central government, while Covaxin will be 600 rupees for states, and private hospitals will have to pay even higher rates. However, several state governments, including Delhi and West Bengal, have said they will absorb the costs and that the vaccines will be free for everyone.
India’s main opposition Congress party accused the government of allowing “brazen profiteering” in the vaccine rollout. On Monday, central government instructed Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech to lower their prices.
In what has been seen as a win for vaccine production in India, this weekend the US lifted the export ban on certain raw materials used to make vaccines, though it is unclear if this will impact Covishield production.
Anthony Fauci, the head of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the US was also considering sending India stockpiled doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, which has not been approved for use in the US.