May 6, 2021 For years, India has made and exported more vaccines than any other country. Yet its vaccination drive against Covid-19, which began in early January, is stumbling and faltering. To this observation, the most obvious response is that India’s population is huge and scattered—that reaching 1.39 billion people is a complicated, time-consuming task. True enough, though the government’s mode of vaccine delivery—its maze of crashing apps, differential pricing, unclear messaging, and patchy record-keeping—is still cause for worry. But the real problem is the alarming shortage of vaccines. This week, India opened up vaccinations to over-18s, but most states didn’t have enough stock to offer shots. Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of the Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s biggest vaccine manufacturer, has warned that the supply crunch will continue for another three months.