Following the scrutiny of the Supreme Court, which called the Centre’s vaccine pricing policy ‘irrational’ and had raised issues of access and equity, the Centre told the court on Saturday that they are expecting to receive 188 crore vaccine doses from at least five manufacturers, by this year-end.
In an affidavit filed by Manohar Agnani, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Centre stated that 51.6 crore doses would be ‘made available’ by July 31, and presented a roadmap outlining how it plans to procure the remaining 135 crores from five manufacturers between August to December 31. In its affidavit, the Centre said that based on supply estimates, it estimates 51.6 crore cumulative vaccinations by the end of July.
According to the Centre, the projected availability of vaccines from August to December will cover the remainder. The Centre submitted that the projected availability of vaccines from August to December will cover the balance 135 crore doses as per this break-up: 50 crore doses of Covishield; 40 crore doses of Covaxin; 30 crore doses of Bio E’s sub unit vaccine; 5 crore doses of Zydus Cadila DNA vaccine; and 10 crore doses of Sputnik V. The Centre went on to say that this ‘does not include other vaccines that are currently in various stages of development within the country and may come and become available.’
Notably, the head of India’s Covid-19 task force stated in May that 216 crore doses would be available in the country between August and December.
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