Why the world depends on India's vaccine production to beat COVID India's reputation as the "pharmacy of the world" has been bruised by COVID vaccine shortages. However, vaccinating people in developing countries largely depends on getting Indian production back on track. India has shipped millions of COVID vaccine doses around the world India is a world leader in vaccine manufacturing, and Indian pharmaceutical companies supply more than 50% of global demand for different vaccines needed for global immunization problems. Before COVID surged in India this spring, Indian vaccine manufacturers like the Serum Institute of India (SII) were supplying developing countries with coronavirus vaccine doses via the World Health Organization's COVAX program.