Fair distribution of COVID-19 vaccine will be a challenge: Soumya Swaminathan

Soumya Swaminathan

Scaling and distribution of COVID-19 vaccine, which should be out by early 2021, fairly around the world will be a challenge, Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist, World Health Organization (WHO), has said.

At the valedictory programme of the International Conference on Public Policy and Management, hosted by the Centre for Public Policy at the Indian Institute of Management - Bangalore (IIMB), she said, “But India is in a good position because many companies are working on vaccine development, either on their own or in collaboration, and India is a manufacturing hub for vaccines.”

Responding to a question on how long the COVID-19 pandemic would

last, Ms. Swaminathan said while the WHO had no crystal ball, it would be safe to say that eradication was not possible and development of vaccine would protect vulnerable populations.

“The pandemic has exacerbated inequalities. And it has proved to be a learning opportunity for us to improve resilience and strengthen public health systems,” she was quoted as saying in an IIMB press release on Wednesday.

The mortality rate is not going up in the second wave of the pandemic, and this is probably related to demographics and other factors, but it is not yet known why South Asia and Africa have lower mortality rates than Europe and the Americas, she added.

There have been many warnings for pandemics and health emergencies — some localised like the Nipah virus, encephalitis, and diarrhoea, and unless we have a system of strong surveillance, it can quickly go out of hand, she said, adding that the Integrated Disease Service Programme in India helps to have surveillance at the district level and below, but what we do not have is “public health cadre that is devoted to not just detection and response but also prevention, management, training and capacity building.”