Vaccine exported before home need met, says Ajit Pawar

Deputy CM Ajit Pawar on Friday blamed the Centre for the ongoing vaccine shortage in the country.
Speaking to reporters after the weekly Covid review meeting, Pawar said the Centre should have catered to needs of all states before shipping out vaccines. He cited the case of Russia, which he said was exporting its home-grown vaccine only after vaccinating a significant chunk of its population. “India started exporting vaccines before it started the drive,” he said.
He said the state has the capacity to step up the vaccination drive, but the shortage was causing a disruption.
Pawar said he has been in touch with vaccine manufacturers and said there were barely any doses left to give booster shots to those over 45. “The Centre should allow states to directly procure vaccines from abroad. I’ve asked Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India, to ramp up production,” he said.
Mumbai-based Haffkine Institute has begun work on the vaccine, but may take over a year to produce the necessary volume, Pawar said.