Vaccine Ecosystem India – Dutch Uncles

You, Me and Economy- A Vaccine Away

Aakash Sharma — Mon, 10 May 2021 03:35:03 +0000

As people worldwide battle COVID-19, India is struggling to contain the spread of the virus and keep its citizens safe. To deal with this chaotic outbreak, Indian authorities have only approved two vaccines: Covishield by Oxford-AstraZeneca, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin. Other foreign vaccines, such as the Russian Sputnik V, have only recently been approved by the Ministry of Health for use.

The tragedy and travesty caused by the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic did not subside, and India is already facing the second phase of infection and destruction. The resurgence of COVID-19 cases has presented new challenges to the failing health and economic system.

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Indian government, like the rest of the countries, emphasized the priority of vaccination campaigns for healthcare and frontline workers, the elderly and vulnerable citizens. But things are far from being smooth and calm for any of these groups.

The second wave has caught India at its worst. This has hampered the healthcare structure and intensified the economic front’s acquisition planning, business uncertainty, and inefficient operations. These factors are expected to harm India’s working-class the most, especially low waged and migrant workers.

But, with the recent announcement that all adults are eligible for a vaccine, employers across the country are hoping to vaccinate their workers and return to work rapidly. The vaccine economy relationship is going to shape the coming few months in India.

The Indian Economy Lacks Immunity from Distress

The first wave of COVID-19 in India devastated the economy, but the rescue operations announced by the Indian government and the RBI, despite their shortcomings, soothed the blow. To control the damage to the economy, the government announced a series of emergency measures under the Atmanirbhar Bharat programme. The RBI also announced various actions to protect individuals and businesses during the crisis by extending loan moratoriums.

But this time, the relief effort will not help as the government is overwhelmed due to its lack of preparedness. The only option for the government to aid businesses, SMEs and MSMEs, while providing healthcare to citizens is to borrow more. But that will further exacerbate the worsening budget deficit.

COVID Prevention Steps have affected the Economy for the Worse

COVID-19 restrictions have shocked many small businesses and companies across the spectrum, especially those operating in the spheres of tourism, travel and hospitality. During the first wave of the outbreak, restaurants, hotels, and similar businesses were the worst affected and were on a slow path to recovery. Today, most of these businesses are again in danger of dying on the sidewalks as the pandemic worsens.

Preparing the Workforce for a Post-pandemic World

The pandemic taught everyone to deal with the adverse situations in a global emergency. In a post-pandemic world, people need to learn to thrive, revive and rise again. Companies coming out of the crisis have realised that the workforce needs new skills to evolve towards a digital and sustainable future.

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Businesses need new resources, such as social and emotional therapies, advanced knowledge and digital skills, to grow and thrive again.

A recent McKinsey Global survey found that 69% of the global workforce considers employee skills need to be developed from a different perspective on talent development rather than the conventions. It is time for companies to build a talent development strategy to define more effective opportunities, such as digital learning and personal workshops.

COVID-19 Vaccines – The Latent Economic Catapult for the World

It is not easy to estimate the exact practical value of vaccines. But what can be fathomed is that they have made an essential contribution to reducing the burden of infectious diseases and related deaths historically and even during the ongoing pandemic. To put it in perspective, vaccinations can save 3 million lives every year.

Vaccination can eradicate or control many infectious diseases, and it can keep people healthy and preserve medical devices. Vaccination is a very effective measure and plays an essential role in the functioning of the health system. These include performance-related economic and productivity growth, behavioural productivity and external social factors.

Benefits of Working with Vaccinated Workforce and Vendors

A vaccinated workforce means that a large part of the population is at low risk after getting vaccinated. The only way to defeat COVID-19 and start the journey to economic recovery is by getting vaccines out to the masses and inoculating them.

Vaccine injection and development should be encouraged from different perspectives as it offers a wide range of health and economic (and social) benefits to the people. In today’s world, it is essential to share vaccine information with people and authorities to ensure that the actual value of vaccines is taken into account, as only the mass vaccination drives can curb severe outbreaks.

Promoting Vaccination in the Economic Participants of India

Compulsory Vaccination

Employers cannot mandate employees’ enrolment for vaccination, but they can guide and train employees to get vaccinated by promoting healthcare in the workplace.

Company Policy in favour of Vaccines

Employers can pay employees who need to be vaccinated. Currently, there are no laws compelling employers to pay employees for the time off for vaccination. But, employers can grant paid leaves to the workers and ask for certified proof of vaccination.

Vaccination Campaigns in the Workplace

The Government of India has recently put forth the “Guidance on COVID-19 Vaccination at Work Places” manual, enabling trained volunteers to conduct vaccination sessions in workplaces. Although the guidelines state that these sessions are to be identified by regional government groups, employers can voluntarily contact the authorities for such initiatives.

Why should you consider vaccination campaigns or awareness programmes for your employees?

By conducting vaccination campaigns for COVD-19 or educating supportive policies and practices, employers can help increase acceptance of the vaccine among their employees. However, COVID-19 vaccine stocks are currently limited, so the processes can be slow. But by sending a clear, complete and accurate message about vaccine efficacy will increase confidence in vaccination decisions, and your staff will be more secure when the vaccine is taken.

As mentioned above, businesses can use government support to run these campaigns. Vaccines can be administered in the workplace for significant health and business benefits. As more and more people get vaccinated, this will result in fewer illnesses, hospitalisations and deaths from COVID-19.

Determination of Vaccine Preferences in the Workplace

The capacity of COVID-19 vaccines is limited in India. Because of these limitations, it is essential to understand how vaccination can reduce the overall burden of disease strategically within constraints.

Companies can follow a more planned strategy to allocate a limited supply of vaccines in the workplace based on age and underlying factors. Older primary workers are often the first to be aimed for immunisation. Regarding the objective scenarios and alternative model, it is possible to prioritise even young direct workers and block them from spreading the virus to the elderly.

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India may end up wasting millions of COVID-19 Vaccine

Vaishali Das — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 05:35:03 +0000

In India, as of 29 April 2021, 15,00,20,648 vaccine doses have been administered, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. While it is considered to be the world’s second largest vaccination drive, the reality is alarming. This vaccination drive might stand incomplete making many of the first doses pointless. Will the precious vaccine doses go waste? Experts say, they might, due to the lack of planning.

How Covid-19 vaccines work?

Covaxin and Covishield- the two Indian vaccines that have established safety and immunogenicity have been given a green signal by the government as emergency vaccines for rolling out.

Covaxin vs Covishield: The Mechanism

Covaxin is based on the theory of inactivated vaccine, meaning it is made up of dead coronavirus and hence is safe to be injected into the body whereas covishield is developed from the weakened version of common cold virus (an adenovirus) from Chimpanzees which is modified to look like the coronavirus minus the illness causing factor.

Doses and Efficacy

Both the vaccines, when injected into the body, help the body create antibodies against the coronavirus. The vaccines are given in two doses:

- Covaxin: It is given four week apart with the efficacy of 81%
- Covishield: It is given 12 weeks apart with the efficiency rate of 90%

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This vaccination drive might stand incomplete making many of the first doses pointless. Will the precious vaccine doses go waste?

The 3 Phases of India’s Vaccination Programme

First Phase

India launched the first phase of its vaccination drive on 16th January, 2021 confining it to the one crore healthcare workers, working in both government and private hospitals and two crores frontline workers and municipal workers.

Second Phase

The second phase included 27 crore people above 60 or over 45 with certain health conditions were eligible for the vaccine.

Third phase

The third phase of vaccination was open to people above 45 years irrespective of comorbidities.

Why will India End up Wasting Covid-19 Vaccine Doses?

While the nation is facing an acute shortage of covid-19 vaccines, India has already wasted 4.6 million doses of vaccine in a span of three months. Moreover, from May 1, India will open up its vaccination drive to everyone above the age of 18 years.
As a result, an additional 600 million people in India will become eligible for getting the COVID-19 vaccine. This will take the count to 40 million eligible people for the second dose of the vaccine and the number will keep on increasing, adding over 65 million people by the end of May.

Analysing and predicting the situation, experts are pointing towards various reasons behind the wastage:

Experts say that the pace has been slow and if not vaccinated within 12 weeks, everything will go back to square one and thence the wastage of vaccines.
Even transporting vaccines to remote areas has been a task as the vials are fragile and once open have to be given within 4 hours. This issue has mostly been seen for the north-eastern states.
Online registration portals are not managed properly and sites are crashing every now and then and hence even the registered candidates are not being able to book slots.
India expected to have Russia’s Sputnik V Vaccine by May 1 but delay in that will cause people’s first dose go in vain.
The uptake has been moderate because of vaccine skepticism as well as a lack of awareness among the poor or in rural areas.
A significant number of the country has little information regarding the online registration process and how to access the vaccine free of cost and hence are not taking the vaccines only.
Despite a promising start in January, India’s vaccination drive has been lagging. And the decision to expand it to the biggest cohort of the country’s population – 18 to 45 year-olds – comes even as several states report a shortage of doses.

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How the Partnership of a Gaming Platform and Healthcare Service Provider Looks Like?

Aakash Sharma — Sat, 20 Mar 2021 10:35:04 +0000

Market sharing strategies are the cornerstone of future development and expansion strategies for businesses. They help companies understand the competitive landscape, reduce costs, improve business performance, and increase sales. Companies that raise brand awareness and targeted customer segments in emerging markets are often open to cross-industry collaboration.

E-Sports and Healthcare Collaboration: More than Welfare

E-Sports Company Mobile Premier League (MPL) and NxtGen Infinite Datacenter recently announced that they would be joining a growing list of companies to cover the cost of vaccination to their employees and co-dependents.

MPL has announced that it will conduct a comprehensive vaccination campaign for all Indian employees and their relatives. The company is already partnering with healthcare providers. It plans to commence the drive as soon as the necessary government protocols and regulations for the general public’s vaccination are announced.

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Flipkart, the e-commerce giant, will bear the immunization costs of all Flipkart and Myntra employees.

Healthcare Expansion is becoming a Priority

When entering emerging markets, such as India’s fast-growing IT industry, healthcare companies need to consider the following points:

Identify suitable markets and industries with adequate growth potential and potential.

Develop new marketing channels and optimize communication content that resonates with customers in emerging markets.

Create connections and partnerships with national and local companies through mergers and acquisitions to improve service quality.

Determine effective pricing strategies and ensure that plant capacity is used optimally to increase investment and profitability.

Positive Intervention of MPL in the Vaccine Healthcare Process

The immunization activities employed by MPL will not only cover the costs. They will also include the entire process, including pre-vaccination medical advice, vaccination plans, and the doctor’s vaccination follow-up.

The vaccination campaign is the voluntary participation of employees and their families. More than 2,000 people, who are integrated with the program, will benefit from the drive.

Other Big Companies Are Also Joining the List of Covering Employee Vaccination Drives

Several companies, including Flipkart, Infosys, Accenture, Capgemini, Reliance Industries, TVS Motor Company, ReNew Power, Mindtree and Sify Technologies, have also agreed to cover the cost of vaccines for their employees and families.

Flipkart, the e-commerce giant, will bear the immunization costs of all Flipkart and Myntra employees. Flipkart said in a statement to employees that its next phase of the vaccination campaign would cover all employees and existing priority groups.

What’s in it for you?

As IT companies collaborate with the healthcare sector to support the COVID-19 vaccination process, it is clear that cross-sector partnerships are an essential factor in developing new business prospects. Indeed, this approach can also be seen as a go-to-market strategy as it provides active input for product and service design and thus attracts a diverse customer base.

In the healthcare industry, understanding the challenges and risks of technology adoption is imperative. Along with that, having a deep understanding of the healthcare market’s competitive landscape is essential to improve efficiency and drive growth. New companies entering this industry need to consider these key factors.

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Who Is Adar C. Poonawalla?

Aakash Sharma — Sat, 13 Feb 2021 00:35:02 +0000

Adar C. Poonawalla is the 40-year-old Chief Executive Officer of Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by number of doses produced and sold globally. It ranks as the number one biotechnology company of India with numbers tallying as more than 170 countries across the globe using the vaccine made by Cyrus Poonawalla Group. In 1966 Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla founded Serum Institute of India (SII) with the aim of manufacturing life-saving immuno-biologicals in India.

Serum Institute of India is now the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by number of doses produced and sold globally (more than 1.5 billion doses) which includes Polio vaccine as well as Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Hib, BCG, r-Hepatitis B, Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccines.

It is estimated that about 65% of the children in the world receive at least one vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute. Vaccines manufactured by the Serum Institute are accredited by the World Health Organization, Geneva and are being used in around 170 countries across the globe in their national immunization programs, saving millions of lives throughout the world.

Adar Poonawalla: The Journey

Adar Poonawalla graduated from the University of Westminster in London and joined the Serum Institute of India in 2001. After exporting its products to 35 countries, Poonawalla focused on its international market and received a new product license and a prequalification from the World Health Organization for supply to the United Nations agencies, including UNICEF and the Pan American Health Organization.

A path-breaking acquisition – In 2011, he became CEO of the Serum Institute and took full control of its daily activities. Serum Institute of India made its first International acquisition by acquiring Bilthoven Biologicals, a bioengineering and pharmaceutical company from The Netherlands Government on 29th June 2012. Adar since taking charge of his family’s vaccine business in 2011 expanded Serum’s global footprint by getting new products licensed and pre-qualified by the World Health Organization for supply to United Nations Agencies including UNICEF and PAHO (Pan American Health Organization).

The takeover of Bilthoven Biological ensurd access to technology and expertise for making the IPV (Injectable Polio Vaccine, Salk), earlier possessed by only 3 other vaccine manufacturers. The acquisition enhances Serum Institute’s offerings in the paediatric vaccine segment and with this Serum Institute hopes to make a significant contribution to the eradication of Polio from the World. The takeover also provides an important manufacturing base in Europe, with access to strategic European Markets.

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It is estimated that about 65% of the children in the world receive at least one vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute.

COVID-19 Vaccine Development – Biggest Challenge of Adar Poonawalla’s Lifetime

Adar decided in mid-2020 that his company would produce 1 billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccine whenever it was ready. He pledged $250 million (Rs 1.1845 crores) for this goal. This put him on the COVID-19 vaccine map as India’s leading player in the fight to ensure adequate and affordable vaccines.

To develop a vaccine for COVID-19, the Serum Institute, led by Poonawala, partnered with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to form AZD1222 in collaboration with the University of Oxford. The Serum Institute is reportedly providing 100 million doses of vaccine to India and other low- and middle-income countries. It is estimated to be priced at Rs 225 (approximately $3) per dose.

In December 2020, the Serum Institute of India requested emergency authorization for a vaccine developed with AstraZeneca from the Indian Government, which was approved a month later.

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