Strategy for COVID-19 vaccination in India: the country with the second highest population and number of cases

• Main Authors: Velayudhan Mohan Kumar, Seithikurippu R. Pandi-Perumal, Ilya Trakht, Sadras Panchatcharam Thyagarajan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Publishing Group 2021-04-01
• Series: npj Vaccines
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41541-021-00327-2

Abstract Free vaccination against COVID-19 commenced in India on January 16, 2021, and the government is urging all of its citizens to be immunized, in what is expected to be the largest vaccination program in the world. Out of the eight COVID-19 vaccines that are currently under various stages of clinical trials in India, four were developed in the country. India’s drug regulator has approved restricted emergency use of Covishield (the name employed in India for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine) and Covaxin, the home-grown vaccine produced by Bharat Biotech. Indian manufacturers have stated that they have the capacity to meet the country’s future needs for COVID-19 vaccines. The manpower and cold-chain infrastructure established before the pandemic are sufficient for the initial vaccination of 30 million healthcare workers. The Indian government has taken urgent measures to expand the country’s vaccine manufacturing capacity and has also developed an efficient digital system to address and monitor all the aspects of vaccine administration.