COVID Vaccine shortage | NASSCOM urges government to provide emergency use authorisation for all WHO-approved vaccines

Source: AFP

As the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic ravages the country leading to acute shortage of vaccines, the IT industry body NASSCOM has urged the government to provide emergency use authorization for all WHO-approved vaccines to address the issue.

The agency has also recommended temporary relaxation of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) regulations and setting up a committee for optimising the use of data in India.

While the vaccination regime has been liberalised, the availability of vaccines, particularly, for the private sector continues to be very challenging. “The tech industry is committed to vaccinate its employees and their families. We would also like to work with Government stakeholders to increase supply and pace of vaccination in India. We request the government to provide emergency use authorisation for all WHO-approved vaccines to facilitate the same,” NASSCOM said.

WHO-approved vaccines like Pfizer, Moderna, J & J, and others have gone through stringent approval process globally, can be authorised to ensure there is no vaccine shortage.

In addition, the agency has also recommended temporary relaxation of FCRA regulations so that the aid can be delivered smoothly as the help pours in from other countries and global firms to India.

“We would also recommend the Empowered Tech Committee to set up a task force to critically implement the recommendations shared by NASSCOM for optimising the use of data in the country,” the agency said.

Data, according to NASSCOM, is important to manage the pandemic and respond better. “COVID tracking and vaccination, insights, and analytics from data could play a key role in decision-making and early warning signals. We must ensure effective access to data for insights and planning, across all states and key departments, on a priority,” it said.

Responding to this move from NASSCOM, Rishad Premji, chairman, Wipro, said in a tweet, “These actions will go a long way in helping arrest the immediate crisis at hand and also accelerate the only sustainable short/ medium-term solution to the pandemic through increased vaccine supply.”

“While sincerely appreciating the support always from GOI, we believe these will enable Indian BPM and Tech to continue to contribute to India’s GDP with confidence. India’s Tech Industry supports initiatives on the ground to ensure a return to normalcy,” said Keshav Murugesh, Group CEO, WNS Global Services.