India’s biggest order of Serum vaccine covered just 4% of people

Modi’s government hasn’t placed an order bigger than 110 million doses from biggest local maker of COVID vaccine.

The Narendra Modi-led federal government hasn’t placed an order larger than 110 million doses from the biggest local maker since sales started in December, according to a person familiar with the matter — enough for just 4% of its population of 1.4 billion people. The lack of a larger central stockpile, coupled with a devastating second wave in the country – daily new cases surged over 400,000 on Saturday – is now making local state governments scramble and compete with one another in placing orders with manufacturers after the federal government turned over the responsibility of procuring vaccines to them last month. Serum Institute of India Ltd., the world’s largest vaccine maker and the country’s main supplier of Covid-19 shots, is racing to keep up with states’ orders but its production facilities can produce only 60 to 70 million doses a month and can ramp up to 100 million by July, said the person who declined to be identified as the information is private.