With the third wave of Covid-19 taking its toll by the day, the government is primarily occupied with one key challenge. So to speak, the government is in a race against time to secure sufficient stocks of vaccines from the producers elsewhere in the world to inoculate people against the virus.   

The government has sought to vaccinate 63 percent of the population by the end of this year to contain the pandemic, but it is a huge challenge to access sufficient doses due to the shortage in global supply.   

As it was the foreseeable reality, the UN- backed COVAX facility was launched last year to ensure that the poor, middle income and rich countries have equitable access to vaccines. Vaccines are unevenly available in the world because supply does not match the demand at all. Now, COVAX is under pressure to deliver the committed amounts of vaccines to the respective countries, and, in the meantime, the pandemic keeps creating fresh challenges across the world responding to the disaster. It also requires around 20 million extra doses by the end of June to make up a shortfall on deliveries caused by the spiralling health crisis in India.  

Sri Lanka is badly in need of 585,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines to administer the second dose for those who were vaccinated first. In addition, Sri Lanka needs fresh stocks of different other vaccines to be rolled out to contain the current surge in the number of cases. Vaccination has been identified as the most effective tool in this regard. Given the shortfall in global supply, Sri Lanka, like other non- vaccine manufacturing countries, is placed in a position to seek the goodwill of vaccine diplomacy of the manufacturing nations to secure the stocks required.

Plans are in place to acquire vaccines such as Sputnik V, Pfizer and Sinopharm in stages under commercial arrangements with the respective countries. However, acquisition of 585,000 doses of AstraZeneca-Covishield vaccine doses remain a challenge mainly since the Serum Institute of India cannot deliver in light of the health crisis in India.   

Sri Lanka has approached countries such as the United States and Indonesia to explore the possibility of obtaining some doses from the unused stocks available in those countries. In anticipation of a possible delay in access to AstraZeneca doses from elsewhere, the Sri Lankan government is mulling to delay second doses to 12 weeks instead of the three to four week interval used by pharmaceutical companies in their vaccine trials.   

Vaccine nationalism 
The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified vaccine nationalism of countries has a major impediment to inoculate the global population. The WHO says at least 70 percent of the global population should be vaccinated to stop the pandemic.Vaccine nationalism has been witnessed since the production came out first.

There were rows over vaccine in Europe itself. It took place initially when AstraZeneca fell behind on its schedule of deliveries to the European Union due to problems at a Belgian plant. The European Union wanted the company to redirect some supplies manufactured in the UK plant to make up for the shortfall. However, the authorities of the UK plant said the supply should be reserved for UK citizens.   

Along with vaccine nationalism, vaccine diplomacy has also been at play. The countries could sign for better contractual, commercial deals and complimentary deliveries based on goodwill with each other. The manufacturing countries used vaccines as a way of fostering and nurturing diplomatic ties.   

India, prior to the present catastrophic conditions, played such diplomacy and delivered dispatches of AstraZeneca Covishield vaccines to the countries in the region and elsewhere as a gesture of goodwill. Besides, these countries including Sri Lanka signed up for commercial purchases from India.   

Sri Lanka exhausted a bulk of the doses of AstraZeneca in terms of free doses, commercial purchases and donation under COVAX, by administering jabs to over 900,000 people. Nothing is predictable during the pandemic days. India, unexpectedly, has been compelled to fight with the spiralling health crisis which sees an unabated spike of patients and fatalities on a daily basis. It rendered India unable to send in supplies.   

This has left the countries in the region like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal to make hasty arrangements with other vaccine producing nations to get supplies for their inoculation drives. Sri Lanka made commercial arrangements with Russia to get Sputnik V. Already, a batch of 15,000 vaccines has been sent, and substantial deliveries are expected in stages. Russia started engaging with Sri Lanka right from the beginning. However, there was a delay on the part of Sri Lanka in striking any deal, probably because it expected supplies from the Serum Institute of India at the initial stage. Early engagement could have helped get a better deal.   

Likewise, it took a long time for Sri Lanka to grant regulatory clearance for the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine despite the donation of 600,000 doses of it being delivered to Sri Lanka. It delayed the mass rollout. Now, Sri Lanka has sought two million doses of this vaccine from China which is under strain to meet the global demand.   

Sri Lankan Ambassador in Beijing Dr. Palitha Kohona said his office recommended the government to initiate steps to get vaccines three months back, but the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) delayed clearance for Sinopharm for unfathomable reasons.   

In what appeared to be a hasty move, State Minister of Production, Supply and Regulations of Pharmaceuticals Prof. Channa Jayasumana rushed to the Chinese Embassy last Monday along with Chairman of the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation Dr. Prasanna Gunasena to get a further consignment of vaccines delivered as early as possible.   During the pandemic era, it is now clear that only timely action and diplomacy play its part in gaining access to vaccines, the most effective tool to combat the crisis.