Need over 10 bn doses to vaccinate 60% of world population by March 2022, says IFPMA's Thomas Cueni

After several weeks of waiting, the United States has finally announced its plans for sharing the initial vaccine doses as part of its overall pledge to share 80 million doses this month.

The country will donate 25 million vaccines in the first phase, of which 75 percent or nearly 19 million doses will be routed via COVAX initiative. The remaining 25 percent of vaccines will be sent to countries, which are facing an immediate surge in cases.

This first lot of 25 million vaccines will comprise of Pfizer, Moderna and the Johnson and Johnson jabs.

Region-wise South and Central America will receive 6 million doses, Asia will receive 7 million doses, and 5 million doses will go to the African Union.

India specifically will receive 2 to 3 million doses, which is about 20 to 30 lakh doses that at the current rate amounts to one to one-and-a-half days' worth of vaccines.

In late April, US President Joe Biden had said the country would send 60 million AstraZeneca doses abroad by July 4, amid sharp spike in infections and deaths in India.

That process is under the review of the Food and Drugs Administration. The US administration has also decided to lift the Defence Production Act Ratings on AstraZeneca, Novovax and Sanofi to improve the supply of vaccines from the country.

CNBC-TV18's Parikshit Luthra spoke to Thomas Cueni, Director General at the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations, to understand how many vaccines global population need in 2021 and how can countries avoid a vaccine crunch,