India, A hope for Poor countries
Shafaq news/ Wealthy countries have already grabbed a major chunk of the available supply. The United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and Canada have struck deals large enough to vaccinate their entire populations. By contrast, a pooled global effort to distribute vaccines equitably to more than 150 countries — including dozens of low-income nations — has secured only 700 million doses. Washington Post published today Thursday.
One prominent vaccine candidate requiring ultra-cold storage is “a joke” that will not work for the developing world. Anyone who declares how long a vaccine will confer immunity is talking “nonsense.” The world’s entire population will not be immunized until 2024; the newspaper quoted Adar Poonawalla, an Indian billionaire whose family-owned firm makes more vaccines a year than any other company as saying.
Poonawalla is equally frank about the gamble his company, Serum Institute of India, is making in the pandemic. He is putting $250 million of his family’s fortune into a bid to ramp up manufacturing capacity to 1 billion doses through 2021.
“I decided to go all out،” said Poonawalla, 39. Among the initial skeptics: his father, Cyrus, the company’s founder. “He said: ‘Look, it’s your money. If you want to blow it up, fine.’ ”
It is a bet with global repercussions. In the quest for effective coronavirus vaccines, India is poised to play a critical role in supplying the developing world, which is starting the race with a distinct disadvantage.
Wealthy countries have already grabbed a major chunk of the available supply. The United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and Canada have struck deals large enough to vaccinate their entire populations. By contrast, a pooled global effort to distribute vaccines equitably to more than 150 countries — including dozens of low-income nations — has secured only 700 million doses
Pfizer, which announced stellar early results for its vaccine candidate Monday, has struck very few deals to supply its product to developing countries. Pfizer’s vaccine must also be stored at ultra-low temperatures, a major challenge in much of the world.
