Emergency use of foreign-made vaccines on the cards, says Union health minister Harsh Vardhan

India may soon approve emergency use of foreign-made vaccines that have been granted similar approvals in the United States, United Kingdom, Europe and Japan or have been included in WHO’s Emergency Use Listing, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Wednesday.

This could pave the way for emergency use of Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna vaccines at a time when states are being forced to shutter vaccination centres and curtail vaccination drives as they run out of stock and look to buy vaccines directly from international markets.

Given the shortage of vaccines, the government has also urged states to prioritise second doses as concerns grow over the effectiveness of the vaccines if there is too much gap between two doses. States have been asked to earmark 70% supply for those due for a second jab.

Only 3.86 crore people had been given the second dose in the last 114 days, compared with 13.66 crore people administered the first dose, the Union minister said at a meeting of health ministers from eight states and Union Territories. “States should not lose sight of those who are to get the second dose of Covid-19 vaccine," he added.

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Even after nearly four months of the country’s vaccination drive, the first targeted group of one crore healthcare workers has not yet received two doses of the vaccine. About 96 lakh healthcare workers have received their first dose, while nearly 66 lakh have taken both doses.

It is a similar story for frontline workers, with 1.42 crore having received the first dose and 80 lakh inoculated twice.

The Union minister drew the state ministers’ attention to the issue and requested them to ensure that these workers were fully vaccinated as soon as possible since they are the most vulnerable to the virus.

However, Vardhan said states should not have any “unrealistic or impractical” expectations around the supply of Covid vaccines as doses were limited and would be systematically rationed to the states. He assured the states that vaccine manufacturers were stepping up capacity and production would likely hit 8 crore doses in May and 9 crore in June.