India is struggling to persuade its healthcare and front-line workers to take a controversially approved COVID-19 vaccine without late efficacy data, government figures said on Thursday, days before the wider launch.
The country has the second largest number of COVID-19 infections in the world after the United States, with cases increasing recently as mask wear declines and states have facilitated social distancing measures.
Lack of confidence in a domestic vaccine could prevent India from meeting its target of vaccinating 300 million of the 1.35 billion people by August.
India has vaccinated more than 10.5 million healthcare and front-line workers since the start of its January 16 immunization campaign.
But only 1.2 million, or about 11 percent of them, took COVAXIN, the locally developed vaccine from Bharat Biotech, while the remaining 9.4 million used the vaccine licensed from AstraZeneca, according to the online platform Co-Win of the government, used to track the momentum of vaccination.
The federal government of India has so far ordered 10 million doses of COVAXIN and 21 million doses from Oxford-AstraZeneca. The government says it has received at least 5.5 million doses of COVAXIN.
“Everything is due to the initial discussion about how [COVAXIN] it was just an experimental vaccine, as it did not complete the phase 3 process, ”said Dr. Subhash Salunkhe, who is advising the Maharashtra state government on the vaccination strategy.
“These things have created doubts in people’s minds, leading to less acceptance. Availability is not a concern at this time. ”
However, Indian Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Tuesday attributed the low absorption of COVAXIN to the limited production capacity of Bharat Biotech compared to that of the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine maker, which makes the film AstraZeneca for low and medium incomes. countries.
“We have found that, in proportion to the amount of vaccine available to us, [COVAXIN’s] off-take is quite satisfactory “, said a press conference.
The Ministry of Health did not respond to a request for comment on the latest figures, which show that only about 12% of the doses ordered were administered.
Earlier this month, Chhattisgarh, an opposition-ruled state with 32 million people, told the federal government it would not use COVAXIN until its effectiveness could be proven in an ongoing trial.
The epidemiologist and public health experts also criticized the approval of COVAXIN as hasty.
Bharat Biotech said the effectiveness data from the study on nearly 26,000 volunteers will be soon. The company, along with the Indian Medicines Regulatory Authority, says the vaccine is safe and effective based on early and intermediate studies.
Bharat Biotech did not immediately comment on the lower absorption of its vaccine.
The government is trying to speed up vaccinations as cases have increased, especially in Maharashtra, western and southern Kerala, possibly while reopening suburban trains and schools.
Clothing and social distancing have also largely disappeared from major events, such as international cricket matches, being played in front of tens of thousands of spectators who hardly follow the rules of COVID-19.
India reported 16,738 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, the biggest daily jump in a month, the health ministry said on Thursday, bringing the total to 11.05 million.
More than half of the new cases were in Maharashtra, India’s richest and home to its financial capital Mumbai, which reported a record 8,807 cases on Wednesday.
Deaths across the country rose by 138, also the highest in a month, bringing the total to 156,705.