The Struggles of India’s Vaccine Giant
When the coronavirus hit, the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine maker, seemed uniquely positioned to help. It struck a deal with AstraZeneca, promising a billion vaccine doses to low- and middle-income nations.
Earlier this year, a ban instituted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi put a stop to those plans.
What has that meant for the nations promised millions of doses?
Guest: Emily Schmall, a South Asia correspondent for The New York Times based in New Delhi.
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Background reading:
- The Serum Institute vowed to protect its country from the coronavirus and inoculate the world’s poor, but India’s crisis has pushed it past its limits.
- Big-power muscle flexing helps explain many of the world’s vaccine inequities, but there’s another problem: The manufacturing challenge is unprecedented.
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
