Questions about the global vaccine shortage

Poor planning by the Union government has ensured that India is not just short of doses but also that the shortage will remain for quite some time

Vaccine shortages in rich as well as poor countries are forcing people to re-examine modern manufacturing practices, supply chain theory, and the limits of neoliberal economics. Influential voices across the globe are raising questions about not just the responses to the Covid crisis but even the suitability of current orthodoxies in the post-pandemic world.

These questions will need to be debated extensively and are important to flag off because policymaking in the future will need to take these into account.

The vaccine shortage has hit most countries. These include rich countries — Canada and those in the European Union — who had