Sujatha Rao, Prof. Biswajit Dhar (Jawaharlal Nehru University), E Kumar Sharma (FE Digital, The Indian Express Group), Prof. Rama V. Baru (Jawaharlal Nehru University)

As the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged India, the importance of availability, accessibility and distribution of the vaccine gained visibility. The major producers of the Covid-19 vaccine are India, China, United States, UK and Russia. Except the United States all other major producers have exported vaccines to several developing countries. Several developed countries have pursued policies of vaccine nationalism thereby undermining the importance of vaccine equity. Both China and Russia have managed to strike a balance between their domestic demand and exports of vaccines. However, India, which is the largest producer of vaccines, has failed to meet both the domestic demand and export obligations. This talk will focus and highlight the recent debates on vaccine nationalism and equity.