In Phase I of the Coronavirus Vaccine Programme, India should invest $1.4 trillion to US$1.8 billion, even after the global COVAX vaccine sharing system based on GAVI figures.
India is planning to inoculate 300 million people over the next six to eight months, potentially with AstraZeneca, Russia’s Sputnik, Zydus Cadila, and India’s own Bharat Biotech in the next two months, which has the world’s largest caseload of coronavirus behind the USA.
Reuters’ document analysis underscores the size of the funding problem India faces in immunizing its massive population, needing 600 million shots for vital and disabled workers in the first wave alone.
On the other hand, if India received fewer 95-125 million doses, then the government will be paid $1.8 billion to procure additional shots.
The federal Indian budget for 2020/21 allocates just less than $10 billion to health care by contrast.
Indian Ministers of Health and Finance did not respond to Reuter’s e-mail requesting comments immediately.
COVAX, co-led by the World Health Organisation’s GAVI and GAVI, is intended by a fund named the Access to the COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Catalyst, launched last April, to provide low and middle-income countries with medical testing, medications, and vaccines.
There has been no estimation by the Indian government of the expense of its vaccination program, but all the means to protect the population are provided.
A help package was negotiated with the Indian Government at the GAVI Partnership, an alliance of states, drug makers, charities, and foreign organizations.
“Providing a low range of support would exacerbate the country’s ability to allocate enough resources to mitigate the risks of continued transmission of COVID-19,” said the GAVI study.
The aim is to inoculate 10 million first-line health workers by February, 20 million core health workers in the following month, and by August 270 million individuals, primarily those over the age of 50 and those with other health problems that make them more vulnerable. According to a vaccine campaign shared with international donors.
The GAVI report said India still needed between $30 million and $80 million for transport and storage infrastructure that had to hold vaccines at very low temperatures.
