Top Vaccine Producers Run Out of Covid-19 Shots
India’s hold on exports could be catastrophic for the continent, especially to the developing countries that were expecting deliveries
Nancy Odindo 
Developing countries are yet to be hit hard by the pandemic as the world’s top vaccine producer runs out of covid-19 shots.
India has been a vast manufacturer producing more than 60% of all the vaccines sold globally and is a major player in the COVAX, the global vaccine sharing initiative that has been providing discounted or free doses to countries with low incomes.
“Under an initial agreement announced last year, the Serum Institute of India, SII, would manufacture up to 200 million doses for up to 92 countries. But the situation in India has changed dramatically since then,” Jessie Yeung and Esha Mitra wrote.
This is as a result of the surge in positive numbers reported daily since the third wave.
According to CNN report, the country reported almost 274,000 new infections, its highest single-day figure so far, and 1,619 new deaths, the highest in almost 10 months.
It has also recorded more than 1 million cases in the past five days alone and topped 15 million total cases on Monday, second only to the United States globally.
With the vaccine supply drying up, at least five states have reported severe shortages urging India’s federal government to act.
“To date, only 14.3 million people have been fully vaccinated -- just over 1% of the country’s population of 1.3 billion,” a report according to Johns Hopkins University.
India is said to have shifted their focus from supplying vaccines to COVAX to giving their citizens priority.
The director of Africa’s disease control body warned India’s hold on exports could be catastrophic for the continent, especially to the developing countries that were expecting deliveries.
