The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said India’s decision to ban vaccine exports was affecting several developing countries as it unveiled a proposal on how a $50 billion investment plan could vaccinate people around the world against COVID-19 by the middle of next year.
The IMF research piece, authored by IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath and colleague Ruchir Agarwal, said, “Already, various manufacturers including the Serum Institute of India (licensed to manufacture Novavax and AstraZeneca) have experienced substantial delays.”
“India has delayed most of its vaccine exports to prioritize vaccinations at home. Such delays disproportionately impact developing countries – for instance, the Serum Institute is contracted to supply about 85 per cent of the supplies to the COVAX facility, and persistent shortage of raw materials and export restrictions can reduce access to vaccines for 4 billion people in 91 developing countries plus India relying on this facility,” it said.
IMF also added that some of the delays in vaccine rollouts around the world can be attributed to ongoing export restrictions imposed by the United States as part of the Defense Production Act to secure its own vaccine supply chain.
