Vaccinating India

Covid-19 inoculations pose an unprecedented challenge

One unintended benefit of the extended time drug-makers are taking to deliver a Covid-19 vaccine is that it offers the government the breathing space to plan a workable vaccine delivery programme in conjunction with the states. The dimensions of the issue are daunting because post-liberalisation India has not faced a public health challenge of this magnitude. In an interview to the The Indian Express, Nandan Nilekani outlined the task at hand: Reaching 1.3 billion people in two years amounts to delivering 2.6 billion vaccinations (assuming it is dual dose), or more than 3 million vaccinations a day. The numbers may