"Share Vaccine Formula," Arvind Kejriwal Suggests To Centre Amid Shortage

Mr Kejriwal - whose government is squabbling with the centre over vaccine and oxygen availability - said supply could be increased if more firms could make vaccines

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday urged the centre to share COVID-19 vaccine formulas and allow more companies to manufacture doses - of which there is an acute shortage as the Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech scramble to match demand from India and abroad. At present India has two vaccines and only two companies making them - Covishield (by the Serum Institute) and Covaxin (by Bharat Biotech) - and both have struggled to raise output. A third - Russia's Sputnik V - has been cleared but not yet rolled out; this will be produced by five companies. Mr Kejriwal - whose government is squabbling with the centre over vaccine and oxygen availability - said supply could be increased if more firms were allowed to make the vaccines. "Only two companies are producing vaccines. They produce only six to seven crore a month. This way, it will take over two years to vaccinate everyone... many waves will have come by then. It is important to increase vaccine production and frame a national plan," Mr Kejriwal said.