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The government should provide financial assistance reportedly sought by the two Covid-19 vaccine makers — Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech — to ramp up production. The amount sought is over Rs 150 crore which can be allocated from the biotech department’s budget.

This will ensure that India does not fall short of the vaccines required to inoculate all its citizens and speed up the vaccination drive. India pays around $2 per dose for AstraZeneca’s vaccine made by Serum Institute and $4 for Bharat Biotech’s while other countries are paying up to $50 per dose, a UNICEF report says. So, India is at an advantageous position as two companies are producing the vaccine and the government should extend all help to increase production.

Increased production capacity would also allow India to export higher quantities of the vaccine and give a leg up to India’s vaccine diplomacy. Currently, the export from India has been stopped for two months so that we don’t face any shortage here. If the companies increase capacity, exports can also resume and enough shots can be supplied to the world to stave off the virus. Fighting the virus should be the need of the hour, not nationalism.

A person travelling from one nation to another carries the risk to contracting the virus. Covid-19 has proved that in a connected world, no country is immune to this virus. When we help others nations fight this deadly disease, we are helping ourselves. After all, as per Upanishadas, the whole world is a family (Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam). And it is everybody’s responsibility to look after the family.