India saved over 3.4 million lives due to Covid vaccination: Stanford report

A working paper published jointly by Stanford University and Institute of Competitiveness has revealed that India's nationwide Covid vaccination campaign helped in saving over 3.4 million lives.

New Delhi:India was able to save more than 3.4 million lives by undertaking the nationwide Covid19 vaccination campaign at an unprecedented scale, stated a working paper published jointly by Stanford University and Institute of Competitiveness on Friday. "India was able to save more than 3.4 million lives by undertaking the nationwide vaccination campaign at an unprecedented scale. It also yielded a positive economic impact by preventing the loss of US$18.3 billion. A net benefit of US$ 15.42 billion occurred for the nation after taking into consideration the cost of the vaccination campaign," the working paper released by Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya noted.

"The cumulative lifetime earnings of the lives saved through vaccination (in the working age group) tolled up to $21.5 billion", it further stated. According to the Stanford University and Institute of Competitiveness, the development of all vaccines (namely Covaxin and Covishield) helped the country to fight against the virus by not only inoculating a large number of people, but also decreasing the burden on healthcare system.

The paper titled "Healing the Economy: Estimating the Economic Impact on India's vaccination and related issues" also discussed the role of containment as a measure to prevent the spread of the virus. It noted that robust measures at the ground level, including contract tracing, mass testing, home quarantine, distribution of essential medical equipment, revamping healthcare infrastructure, and constant coordination amongst stakeholders at the Centre, State and district levels helped in containing the spread of the virus as well as augmenting the health infrastructure.

Highlighting the schemes and financial packages announced by the government during the pandemic, the paper pointed out, "With the schemes to support MSME sector, 10.28 million MSMEs were provided assistance testing in an economic impact of US$100.26 billion (4.90 percent GDP)".

Similarly, under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY), free food grains were distributed to 800 million people, which resulted in an economic impact of approximately US$26.24 million. The report said that under PM Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyan, four million beneficiaries were provided employment which resulted in an overall economic impact of US$4.81 billion.

Asserting that the working paper is an admission of the government's approach during Covid19 pandemic, Health Minister Mandaviya said the constant coordination among stakeholders at the Centre, State and district levels helped in mitigating the adverse effects of Covid19 and provided an impetus to the economic activities. "The relief packages by the government catered to the welfare needs of the vulnerable groups, old age population, farmers, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), women entrepreneurs amongst others and also ensured support for their livelihood," Mandaviya said.