Title: Walking a tightrope: understanding COVID-19 vaccine allocation in India

Authors: Kalpana Tokas; Kartik Yadav

Addresses: School of Business Management, NMIMS University, Vile Parle West, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India ' Indian Institute of Management Lucknow, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh 226013, India

Abstract: India's National COVID-19 Vaccination Program commenced in early 2021, but was subjected to multiple policy changes and allegations such as inequitable allocation of vaccines to states and political favouritism. Government of India (GOI) highlighted certain factors that had guided the initial allocation of vaccines to states and union territories. This paper uses the limited data available in public domain for the initial allocation period of April and May 2021 to empirically examine these claims using a panel data random effects model. Our results suggest that GOI broadly followed the globally prescribed principles for vaccine allocation. However, we find that the allocation failed to cater to the most vulnerable age groups of the population, though we do not find any evidence of political favouritism. We conclude the study with certain policy suggestions.

Keywords: COVID-19; vaccination; policy; politics; India.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEPEE.2024.140194

International Journal of Economic Policy in Emerging Economies, 2024 Vol.20 No.1, pp.77 - 91

Received: 28 Mar 2022
Accepted: 20 Oct 2022
Published online: 29 Jul 2024 *

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