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India coronavirus: Can its vaccine producers meet demand?




The head of slotxo the Serum Institute of India (SII), one of the world's largest manufacturers of coronavirus vaccines, has said its
production capacity is "very stressed".

The SII had been supplying vaccines around the world, including to the Covax scheme for middle and low income countries. But India has
put a temporarily halt on these exports.


Can India meet its domestic needs?
India has a major challenge inoculating its own population.

"We are prioritising the needs of India", said Adar Poonawalla, the head of SII said in an interview on Indian television, but added
"we are still short of being able to supply to every Indian."

As of 7 April, around 85 million doses had been administered nationally, and the programme was recently extended to include all those
aged 45 and above.

The government says vaccination will not yet be extended to wider groups because of a "limited supply" until July.


Why is capacity 'stressed'?
Two vaccine producers in India have raised concerns about their ability to meet their production targets.

The largest of these, SII - which produces Novavax and AstraZeneca vaccines - has warned of raw material shortages affecting production.

Its chief executive, Mr Poonawalla, attributed this to US export bans on specific items needed to make vaccines, such as specialised bags
and filters.

The firm said it has also faced difficulties importing cell culture media, single-use tubing and specialised chemicals from the US.

"The sharing of these... raw materials is going to become a critical limiting factor — nobody has been able to address this so far," said
Mr Poonawalla.

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