A big reason that India is moving at a snail’s pace compared to other countries with its vaccination process is because the third phase of the vaccination drive has coincided with an acute vaccine supply shortage across the country.
While the government’s premature declarations of India defeating COVID and allowing elections and Kumbh Mela gatherings have received a lot of flak, the Modi government has also received scathing criticism for exporting 6.6 crore doses to other countries since January 2021 as a part of India’s “vaccine diplomacy”.
But since the burden of vaccinating the 18-44 group fell on state governments, many states had to delay the immunisation process over the lack of vaccine doses, and some states have now even halted the drives temporarily because their vaccines stocks are all spent.
In desperation to get more vaccines, perhaps it’s the first time in history that we’re seeing state governments like the Delhi and Maharashtra governments floating their own global…