COVID-19 Vaccine diplomacy: The world must hand it to India when it comes to the Pharmaceutical Sector!
The Indian Pharmaceutical sector stands as the world’s 3rd largest in the terms of volume and 10th largest in the terms of value; also, India is the largest provider of generic medicines globally, occupying a 20% share in global supply by volume. Nearly 22% of overall USFDA approved plants accounts in India. India has begun dispatching millions of doses of its indigenously manufactured COVID-19 vaccines to its South Asian neighbors and key partner countries. The Indian government was also one of the first nations to engage in COVID-19 Vaccine diplomacy as a measure to assist countries that may not otherwise have access to emerging vaccine candidates
With regards to vaccine access, some countries have been much more fortunate than others. Namely, the United States, Israel, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and India, among others, have been able to develop and/or acquire vaccines and roll out their distribution plans somewhat successfully. India has in the past few days supplied millions of Covid-19 vaccines to countries in South Asia, South America, Africa, West Asia, as well as the Pacific Island states.
With COVID-19 Vaccine diplomacy, India - which has emerged as the "pharmacy to the world" in the war against Covid-19, had dispatched two million doses of the same Pune-made vaccine to Brazil on January 22. This has enabled the Latin American country to kick off its inoculation drive at a time when its Covid-19 death toll has crossed 214,000 which is the second highest in the world after the US.
In terms of production capabilities, there are multiple industry leading pharmaceutical firms ramping up the fight against Covid-19 in India, including the famous Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech. However, India is certainly not the lone player in these efforts to improve worldwide access to vaccinations. As many as 92 countries, across the globe have so far approached India for Covid-19 vaccines. While currently two India-made vaccines have been approved for use, Russia's Sputnik V and Novavax of the US are expected to be cleared very soon.
"India, the vaccine hub of the world is now stepping into the next level of not only becoming part of a manufacturing supply chain but also a candidate for world class R&D. There's a huge international demand for our vaccines," said Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla
