India, a country with a population of 1.3 billion, approves the first vaccine… ‘Vaccination Campaign’ volume offensive begins

(New Delhi = Yonhap News) Correspondent Kim Young-hyun = India, with a population of 1.38 billion, is entering the “Daejangjeong” vaccination against the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19).

The Indian government recently finalized the approval process for the emergency use of the Corona 19 vaccine developed by the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and Oxford University in the UK.

Although several countries have already approved the use of Pfizer, Moder, or vaccines and have started vaccination, India has approved the use of the vaccine for the first time.

Since India is the world’s largest exporter of generic drugs and a key pharmaceutical supplier responsible for about 60% of the world’s vaccine production, the approval is expected to establish itself as a’hub’ in the world vaccine supply.

India, which has the second largest cumulative number of confirmed cases in the world (13,05788, based on the Ministry of Health, India) has been highly anticipated for the distribution of vaccines since it is one of the countries that suffered the most damage from the Corona 19 outbreak.

In particular, the AstraZeneca vaccine has been selected as the ‘0th priority’ Corona 19 vaccine to be introduced by the Indian government. This is because Serum Institute (SII), a domestic pharmaceutical company and the world’s largest vaccine company, participated in the clinical trials and handled production through an Indian factory.

This is because AstraZeneca vaccine is more suitable than Pfizer, Moder, or vaccine, which is expensive and requires cryogenic distribution, considering the delivery situation where there are many poor and the medical infrastructure such as cold chain (low temperature distribution network) is weak.

In fact, AstraZeneca vaccine can be stored in a refrigerated condition (2-8℃) for at least 6 months, but Pfizer and Modena vaccine must be distributed at cryogenic temperatures below -70℃ and below -20℃, respectively.

SII has already produced 50 million doses (1 dose = 1 dose) at factories in India in preparation for emergency approval. SII plans to increase production to 100 million doses per month by March.

Indian authorities plan to start vaccinating with about 10 million medical and health workers and 20 million police, military, and municipal employees as early as next week.

After vaccinations to medical staff are over, the number of vaccination targets is increased to those in the 50s or older and complications under the 50s. The number of people eligible for these prior vaccinations is about 300 million, and the Indian government plans to complete the vaccinations by July.

Indian Minister of Health and Family Welfare Harsi Bardan said on the 2nd that “the vaccine will be distributed free of charge to 30 million people, including medical staff and quarantine front workers.”

Currently, more than 9 pharmaceutical companies, including SII, have started developing and producing a COVID-19 vaccine in India.

In addition to SII, Pfizer and Indian pharmaceutical company Barat Bio have also applied for emergency use of the Corona 19 vaccine to the authorities.

Accordingly, other vaccines will be obtained one after the other following AstraZeneca.

Minister Bardan said last month, “In the next 6 to 7 months, we will have the ability to inoculate 300 million people in India.”

As for the vaccine distribution infrastructure, as of the beginning of last month, there are 8,5,634 refrigeration and freezing facilities for vaccine storage in 28,000,947 cold chain (low temperature distribution networks) bases in India, local media reported.

There are 50,000 cold chain technicians in 700 refrigerated trucks.

However, experts pointed out that in order to smoothly distribute a huge amount of vaccines, the infrastructure needs to be expanded further.

Accordingly, it is known that the Indian federal government is sending additional cold chain related facilities such as large refrigerator rooms, access coolers, and freezers to each state in preparation for the full-scale supply of vaccines.

However, India’s weather, which starts to exceed 30℃ in March, frequent power outages, and a lack of manpower for vaccination and follow-up management are expected to hinder vaccine supply.

Meanwhile, the spread of Corona 19 in India, which had the number of confirmed cases approaching 100,000 per day in September, has recently slowed significantly. The cumulative number of confirmed patients on this day only increased by 19,000 from the previous day.

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2021/01/02 20:39 sent