India may need $1.8 billion for 1st phase Covid-19 vaccination
India may need to spend USD1.8 billion on Covid-19 vaccines in first phase of a coronavirus vaccination programme, even after getting support under the Covax global vaccine-sharing scheme, according to estimates by the GAVI vaccines alliance.
India’s Covid-19 caseload is close to cross 1 crore mark with 99.51 lakh cases reported on Thursday, the world’s second highest caseload of coronavirus after the United States.
India plans to inoculate 300 million people over the next six to eight months.
The vaccines to be used are AstraZeneca, Russia’s Sputnik, Zydus Cadila and Bharat Biotech.
At least 600 million shots will be required in the first phase alone for critical workers and people most at risk from Covid-19, a list of whom has already been prepared, as per the plan submitted by India at the international forum.
If India got 190-250 million shots of the vaccine under the Covax facility - a best case scenario - then the Government would need to line up about $1.4 billion to make up for the shortfall, according to a news agency which quoted an unpublished report prepared for GAVI’s three-day board meeting that began on Tuesday.
On the other hand, if India received a lower allocation of 95-125 million doses, then the cost to the government of procuring additional shots would go up to USD1.8 billion.
By comparison, India’s 2020-21 Union Budget allocated just under $10 billion to healthcare. The Covax plan, co-led by the World Health Organization and GAVI, aims to provide poor and middle-income countries with diagnostic tests, drugs and vaccines through a fund known as the Access to Covid-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, set up last April.
GAVI, an alliance of Governments, drug companies, charities and international organisations, said it was in discussions with the Government over a support package.
“Providing a low range of support would exacerbate the country’s ability to allocate enough resources to mitigate the risks of continued transmission of Covid-19,” the GAVI report said.
The GAVI report identified India’s economic burden due to the pandemic as “disproportionate” and suggested a donor-funded plan of USD1.3 billion to secure 190-250 million doses. The plan needs to be approved by the GAVI alliance board.
According to a vaccination plan shared with international donors, the Union Health Ministry targets to inoculate 10 million frontline health workers by February, 20 million essential workers by the following month and then 270 million people by August, mostly people above the age of 50 and those with other health issues that make them more vulnerable.
India also needed USD30 million to USD80 million for the infrastructure to transport and store vaccines that must be kept at very low temperatures, the GAVI report said.