States told not to tie up vaccines on their own; supply from Gavi to be sufficient

New Delhi: An expert committee has advised states not to procure Covid-19 vaccines on their own and said that domestic production capacity and supplies through Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, would be sufficient for India.

“There will be a unified mechanism to procure vaccines and states have been advised against following independent mechanisms,” a senior official said after the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 met on Wednesday to discuss vaccine distribution.

The committee noted that India has a significant domestic production capacity, which could also help to meet the requirements of other countries.

“India is assuming a leadership position and given the capacities that India has, that position should be leveraged for other middle- and low-income countries, too,” the official said.

Unlike Western countries, India hasn’t invested in securing vaccines in advance. The government is confident that it can manage with its indigenous production capacity and the mechanism hosted by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

Gavi facility will buy vaccines approved by regulatory agencies and/or prequalified by WHO.