The Pressure of Vaccine Production in a Pandemic

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.

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