Denying the allegations by state governments of not providing Covid19 vaccines, NITI Aayog member Dr. VK Paul has said that the Center is continuously increasing the production of vaccines.
Briefing on vaccine availability in India, he announced that the country soon will be getting 4 new Covid19 vaccines.
The four new vaccines include the Bio-E vaccine, Zydus’s DNA-based vaccine, Bharat Biotech’s nasal vaccine and Geneva vaccine. He added that by the end of 2021, around 200 doses of vaccine would be produced in the country.
Dr. Paul said that the government is funding the manufacturer of Zydus Cadila, Bio-E and Geneva’s vaccine under the Covid19 safety scheme. Along with this, they are also provided with technical support from national labs.
“States know our vaccine production capacity. When they said they want flexibility in vaccine procurement, a new system was brought in. The Centre will procure 50 percent of vaccines produced domestically, for states for free, for the age group above 45,” Dr. VK Paul said.
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“Besides this, a special channel was created for the remaining 50 percent where state governments and the private sector can purchase and supply vaccines. On whatever states procure, state governments have to decide as to which group it has to be given to,” he added.
Dr. VK Paul announced that India aims to produce one crore doses daily. “We will have to prepare one crore doses in a day. It will be possible in a few weeks. We made 43 lakh doses in a day and now should raise this number to 73 lakh per day in the next three weeks.”
He also mentioned that the government is engaged in negotiations with Pfizer and Moderna for the vaccine. Pfizer has offered 5 crore vaccine doses and will start supply from July. However, the government is still discussing Pfizer’s terms and conditions and will soon make a decision.