Ramping up vaccinations should be accorded top priority by India

With daily cases exceeding 261,000 and reported shortages of hospital beds, essential medicines and even oxygen, the country’s covid crisis has clearly spiralled out of control. There are many things we have to do: ramp up health care facilities and supplies urgently, stop super-spreader events such as election rallies and large religious gatherings, promote masking, social distance and hygiene and introduce selective lockdowns when necessary.

The only good news compared to a year ago is that vaccines are a new weapon we didn’t have earlier. Two domestically-produced vaccines are already in use and more are on the way. And vaccines approved abroad are now allowed for use in India, adding to potential supply.

Ramping up the pace of vaccination is an obvious priority. But achieving it may require moving away from the present highly-centralized system in which the central government is the sole authorized buyer of vaccines, fixing the price and placing all orders.

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