India will have to spend $1.8 bn on Covid-19 vaccines in Phase 1: Report
India will have to
spend $1.4 billion to $1.8 billion in the first phase of a coronavirus vaccination programme, even
after getting support under the COVAX
global vaccine-sharing scheme, according to estimates by the GAVI vaccines
alliance.
India, which has the
world’s second highest caseload of coronavirus behind the United States, plans
to inoculate 300 million people over the next six to eight months, likely with
vaccines from AstraZeneca, Russia’s Sputnik, Zydus Cadila and India’s own
Bharat Biotech.
Documents reviewed by
Reuters underline the scale of the funding challenge India faces to immunise
its vast population, with 600 million shots required in the first wave alone
for critical workers and people most at risk from COVID-19.
If India got 190-250
million shots of the vaccine under the COVAX facility - a best case scenario -
then the government would need to line up about $1.4 billion to make up for the
shortfall, according to an unpublished report prepared for GAVI’s three-day
board meeting that began on Tuesday. Read More
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