Paper: III
For Prelims: Coronavirus vaccines of India.
For Mains: India and its Neighborhood- Relations.
 
 
Context of News:

• Going by Neighborhood first policy, India is donating around 10 million doses of covid-19 vaccines to countries with which it has friendly relations, even as it tries to balance the diplomatic move with the requirements for its own healthcare and frontline workers.
• A consignment containing 1 lakh doses of Covishield vaccines has reached Male on January 20. With this, Maldives, along with Bhutan becomes the first recipient of the Indian government’s gift, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.
• Serum Institute of India’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech International Ltd.’s Covaxin to countries such as Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Mauritius, and Seychelles.

Coronavirus vaccines of India:

• Covaxin is an indigenous vaccine, developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
• One of the leading vaccine candidates for COVID-19, Oxford - AstraZeneca, dubbed as Covishield in India.

What is Status of India’s Vaccine Distribution?
 

• All 36 states and UT’s have concluded meeting State steering committee as well as State task force. 633 districts have concluded meeting of district task force.  23 ministries and Dept. are part of the vaccine programme.
• India is vaccinating its health care persons first and then it will be followed by citizens of older age and children in certain group of section.
• India has produced enough doses of Vaccine that can not only take care of India’s need of Vaccine but also the requirement of many other countries.

What is Vaccine Diplomacy?

• The term vaccine diplomacy is being coined up in the context of developing good bilateral relations with neighboring countries. As the present government is focusing too much on the neighborhood as the priority bilateral relation.
• Going by the neighborhood first policy, Government of India is trying to regain the lost plot among the bilateral relation management and improving the bilateral relation with neighboring countries.
• Vaccine diplomacy of India is nothing but the improving the bilateral relation of India with its neighboring countries in the present context of time, where our bilateral relation is not good with many neighboring countries, especially in the context of Chinese assertiveness in India’s Backyard.
• India had earlier supplied Hydroxychloroquine, tablets, as well as diagnostic kits, ventilators, masks, gloves and other medical supplies to a large number of countries during the pandemic.
• India has also provided training to several neighboring countries to enhance and strengthen their clinical capabilities, under the Partnerships for Accelerating Clinical Trials (PACT) programme.

Conclusion:

• As far as the distribution of vaccine in India is concerned, distribution of vaccines will require a herculean task in India. It will require expansion of India’s existing cold chain capacity at a break-neck speed, especially in some of the more densely populated parts of the country, where such infrastructure is severely limited.

Vaccine diplomacy can be a catalyst for India to regain the lost plot of India, especially in the countries like Nepal and Maldives.  It remains to be seen whether, vaccine distribution/diplomacy will work for India or not. What is required as of now, is to not only reaching out to neighborhood with vaccines but also going for vibrant engagement with our neighbor countries and discussing the matters that are impacting our Bilateral Relations.