India has authorized the use of two Covid-19 vaccines, highlighting its enormous vaccine manufacturing capacity. Large parts of the rich world can have something valuable to learn.
The Serum Institute of India is the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines by volume, founded more than 50 years ago by the now multi-billionaire Cyrus Poonawalla. It is likely to supply not only almost all vaccines administered in India, but also in many other places in the world, once exports are allowed later in the year.
The Fitch Solutions survey describes three groups of Asian economies this year: those who can plausibly vaccinate most people in priority groups, such as health professionals and the elderly by June, those who can do it by September and those who will take longer. India is by far the lowest-income country in the first group of economies, which includes Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Malaysia. Wealthier South Korea and Thailand will take longer.
The work of the Serum Institute requires a reliable and ample domestic supply of the bottles in which the vaccines are sealed and transported, ensured by companies such as Schott Kaisha and Piramal Glass. The existence of the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer helps to lay the foundation for a national network of suppliers.
Global supply chains and international trade have really held up very well in extreme circumstances last year. There is no need to restore huge amounts of manufacturing capacity, and any attempt to obtain a halved autarchy will make all parties involved – importers and exporters – less prosperous.
But countries could take a leaf from India’s book when it comes to making crucial items that can face massive increases in demand and where national priorities come to the fore. Doing so is unrealistic for all small and medium-sized countries, but production could be organized at the level of regional blocs, such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The pandemic has hit Latin America more strongly than in many other parts of the world, but its limited production of vaccines means that most nations have a long wait ahead.
Workers at the Serum Institute of India in Pune.
Photograph:
/ Associated Press
This company does not have to be a government company. As noted, the Serum Institute was founded and remains a private company, although it cooperates closely with the government. Similar capacity building could be achieved through cooperation in healthcare regulation to create large regional markets and adequate financial incentives. The principle applies just as clearly to personal protective equipment as it does to vaccines.
Many much richer countries have been concerned about the scarcity of such vital components because they are generally imported, and supplies are now uncertain with very high demand. Given the painfully slow pace at which European vaccines are being launched, the Indian program may well end up as a model for the world.
Write to Mike Bird at [email protected]
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