Has Modi Sarkar lost their way by giving vaccines to other nations- Modiji was “trying to get brownie points abroad” & now Indians are dying – was that a mistake?Has Modiji’s much touted Vaccine Maitri failed?

What use was all that helping USA when they are not giving us the raw material for vaccines?

UK & Israel have given at least one dose to their entire population. In contrast, we have vaccinated only 13 crore – just 10 % of our population ! Isn’t that a shame ?

We said no to Pfizer & Modena earlier & now we have made a U-Turn as we go begging around for vaccines ??

Now let me clarify some points as a person from the medical field & whose husband works in clinical research!

First of all, this virus is an entirely new entity- the world came to know of it last year & then only research started. So first, there was research, then trials, first on animals, then on some humans, then on more humans & then even more (phase 3)
So no regulatory bodies will give the go-ahead & no nation will start vaccinations on the entire public till data is clear !

Serum Institute of India is the largest vaccine maker globally, but their covid vaccines are using AstraZeneca technology. As a result, they had export commitments & also had to give AstraZeneca about half of the profits! Moreover, they need to balance public welfare with private profits as they were selling the vaccine at a low price. They were getting more money from abroad – as a private entity, which they were going to use to expand their facilities further. Unfortunately, they had a fire in their plant ( perhaps sabotage ), which didn’t affect existing production but definitely affected expansion plans.
As the second wave hit India, the government banned exports & SII had to explain to their clients that they won’t be able to supply for a few months. This affected their profits & expansion. So Modi Sarkar immediately gave them & Bharat Biotech a credit of 3000 crores depending on how much govt was to buy from them. Now, SII will go from 70 million to 100 million doses a month & Bharat Biotech will produce 60 million doses per month using exclusively Indian raw material.
Indian govt will get vaccines based on the past order of 1 crore vaccines at ₹150 a dose. Now the state as well as the centre will get vaccines at the same rate of ₹ 400 as SII is selling entire stocks to us & losing out on export profits.
It’s highly short-sighted in this globalised economy not to share resources like vaccines as we ourselves are part of a global supply chain & as people from these other nations will come to you carrying the virus & the world will continue to be in this cycle of the pandemic.
Now about the USA:
Yes, India helped the USA last year with paracetamol & HCQ but remember: lack of raw material doesn’t affect Covaxin or Covishield, it affects another SII vaccine in the pipeline.
Covaxin is 100 % desi – doesn’t require any foreign raw material
It’s not as if India is going around with a begging bowl & our vaccine production is stuck
India has just told the US to expedite the free flow of raw material, but the US also needs it for itself. Also, do remember that the US hasn’t helped anyone in this pandemic, so it’s not like they are purposely doing it to hurt India.
Btw, SII said that they would be making 100 million doses per month in a couple of months while Bharat Biotech will go up to 60-70 million doses of Covaxin.
In the next 2-3 months, about five companies in India are expected to get approval & which will shore up our production even more!
So naysayers can shut up.
India is the pharmacy of the world – we provide 70 % of vaccines in the world.
There is a shortage of raw material for ONLY one of the vaccines in the pipeline!
People who are harping on Modiji’s failures are vultures rubbing their hands in glee, seeing people die & saying dekh Modi fail ho gaya.
Now about Pfizer & other international vaccines.
Ironically, people who raised questions on the lack of phase 3 trial data on Covaxin had no issues about Pfizer & other foreign vaccines getting entry into India without submitting any data on people of Indian ethnicity?
When they had applied for use in India, Pfizer & Moderna were told to do bridging trials (on Indians so that their efficacy & safety in Indians could be evaluated). They didn’t show further interest.
Then they were told to at least share data on people of Indian ethnicity who were already part of their trial – they didn’t do that either!
Now the question arises – do we want the governments to unleash a vaccine on 130 crore Indians whose data on Indian ethnicity is unknown??
They have been now allowed on an emergency basis, but they still have to provide data on Indians. The first 100 beneficiaries of such foreign vaccines would be assessed for seven days for safety outcomes before it is rolled out for the further immunisation programme within the country. So it’s not that now govt has thrown safety to the winds – they need this data before any foreign vaccine is available to 130 crore Indians.
As far as UK & Israel are concerned, please check their population- less than Mumbai. So comparing them with us is very, very absurd!
Today, India is the fastest vaccinator in the world – no other nation has vaccinated more than India has!
Modi Sarkar is dynamic in its decision making & changing rules as per the needs of the nation. If they had opened up the market for all in the initial stages itself, we might have had mass casualties, couldn’t have collected important safety & efficacy data & created shortage panic like in case of remdesivir & oxygen cylinders
Vaccinations, especially in a nation of 130 crores, have to be rolled out slowly & carefully to keep all safeguards in place.
It’s easy for us to judge in hindsight but place yourself in the shoes of that 70 year old who has to decide the destiny of 130 crore people- it’s not easy being “Bharat Bhagya Vidhaata.”
So keep the trust – Modiji is doing his best – let us all strengthen his hands in this moment of national calamity instead of “I told you so”. India needs to be united – humanity first !