When India launched its COVID-19 vaccination drive in mid-January, the chances of success looked high: It could produce more shots than any country in the world and had decades of experience inoculating pregnant women and babies in rural areas.
¡°Our preparation has been such that vaccine is fast reaching every corner of the country,¡± Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Jan. 22. ¡°On the world¡¯s biggest need today, we are completely self-reliant. Not just that, India is also helping out many countries with vaccines.¡±
Just over three months later, that initial promise has evaporated and the government¡¯s plans are in disarray. India has fully vaccinated less than 2% of its 1.3 billion-strong population, inoculation centers across the country say they¡¯re running short of doses and exports have all but stopped. Rather than building protection, the South Asian nation is setting daily records for new infections as a second wave overwhelms hospitals and crematoriums.
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