Uncertainty looms over vaccination of 18-45 age group; no clarity on pricing and existing supply

As per sources, this comes as many of them have not yet made purchase orders for doses of the available COVID-19 vaccines. Further, there is no clarity available on the existing supply and pricing of these doses.

Moneycontrol News

April 27, 2021 / 04:21 PM IST

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With many states eager to vaccinate their population on May 1, uncertainty on vaccinating the population between 18-45 continues.

As per sources, no private hospitals have made purchase orders for doses of the available COVID-19 vaccines. Further, there is no clarity available on supply and pricing of these doses, CNBC-TV18 reported.

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Sources say uncertainty continues on vaccinating 18-45-year-olds starting May 1st; No clarity on available supply or pricing yet.@TimsyJaipuria reports. #vaccination #vaccines pic.twitter.com/X4rmSdfebc

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) April 27, 2021

As per the report, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi, Maharashtra, Punjab, Jharkhand and Karnataka are among the states currently in talks with vaccine developers to secure the shots.

Currently, no purchase order has been made by private hospitals. There is also no clarity on available supply or pricing yet.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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