States plan vaccine expansion, PM asks firms to raise capacity

Officials in various states also said they were expecting guidance from states on how to go about sourcing doses.

Maharashtra became the first state on Tuesday to announce that it will directly buy coronavirus vaccines from next month and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met executives from the key manufacturers and promised support as India prepares to massively ramp up the campaign from May 1, when all adults become eligible for doses.

Vaccine makers separately confirmed they were ramping up production (REUTERS representative image)

Prime Minister Modi asked the executives of six companies during a meeting on Tuesday to “continuously scale up production capacity” in order to deliver doses for all adult Indians “in the shortest possible time”, assuring smooth and quick approvals for their candidates if they are approved elsewhere.

“The government ensured that all the vaccine manufacturers not only get all possible help and logistic support, but also the process of vaccine approval is speedy and scientific,” Modi said, according to a government release.

On Monday, the government allowed vaccine makers to offer shots via the open market and make direct deals with state governments, a channel that is likely to also be the only option through which people between the age of 18 and 44 may be able to receive the doses. The centrally sponsored drive will continue to be restricted to those above the age of 45, and will remain free of cost.

The Uttar Pradesh government decided it will pay for the vaccines of all adults above the age of 18, although it was not immediately clear whether the state will buy doses directly or create a mechanism that could involve reimbursing private hospitals for doses to these groups.

Vaccine makers separately confirmed they were ramping up production. The maker of Covaxin, Bharat Biotech, on Tuesday announced they will scale up manufacturing capacity to 700 million doses annually.

The company, as well as Serum Institute of India, which makes Covishield (the other vaccine in use in India), were recently given a ₹4,500 cr credit line (of which SII gets ₹3,000 cr) to expand their capacities. SII too has said that it will ramp up production to 100 million doses a month soon from its existing capacity of 60 million doses.

A third coronavirus vaccine likely to be available soon is the Russian Sputnik V, which has tied up with India’s Dr Reddy’s for distribution. According to a person aware of the specifics, the first batches of Sputnik V – which was approved by India’s regulators earlier this month -- is likely to be imported by the end of April or early May.

“Once more vaccines come into the market, and the existing companies begin scaling up, the supply chain will further strengthen. We should be able to see the difference by June,” said an official aware of the vaccination planning, asking not to be named.

Modi’s meeting included executives from SII, Bharat Biotech and DrReddy’s, as well as Biological E, Gennova and Zydus Cadila. Biological E has tied up with two American vaccine developers -- J&J and Biological E -- while Zydus Cadila and Gennova are testing their own candidates.

Officials in various states also said they were expecting guidance from states on how to go about sourcing doses. In a special cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the Maharashtra government decided it will use the state’s development funds to procure vaccines, including those which may need to be imported, state health minister Rajesh Tope said.

“We currently have two vaccines, Covishield and Covaxin, but if the need arises, we have also decided to import stock of other vaccines such as Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Sputnik from other countries,” Tope said after the meeting.

Health department officials said the state will also have to take a call on which section of the 18-44 age group it would bear the vaccination cost for, as well whether it would need to exercise control over how many vaccine doses can private hospitals buy. This will prove vital to ensure equitable vaccination for all, an official said.