Sometimes, hope can be found in the unlikeliest of times. The discovery of vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic is an example. In the episode ‘Vehicle of Hope’ of the podcast ‘Healthy Dose’, we explore how economic and scientific innovations, specifically vaccines, can be seeds of a healthier future.

Dr Arindam Nandi, Senior Fellow at The Centre for Disease Dynamics and Economic Policy gets into a free-rolling conversation with Vidhi’s Yogini Oke on vaccine financing, how COVID-19 is affecting early-childhood vaccination and how financing innovations from today can help the world combat alzheimers. Through this episode, we explore the potential of vaccines beyond their disease-prevention benefits.

This episode was recorded on February 17, 2021.

Readings:

1. ‘India announces Rs 900 crore for COVID-19 vaccine research’, Anwesha Madhukalya, (Business Today)
2. Understanding GAVI’s Funding Mechanism: https://www.gavi.org/investing-gavi/funding
3. Understanding GAVI’s COVAX Facility and the COVAX AMC: https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/covax-explained
4. ‘Federal spending on COVID-19 vaccine candidates tops $9 billion, spread among 7 companies’, Karen Weintraub and Elizabeth Weise (USA Today)
5. ‘Pfizer and BioNTech announce an agreement with U.S. government for up to 600 million doses of MRNA-based vaccine candidate against SARS-COV-2’ (Business Wire)
6. Understanding the UIP Framework in India: ‘Universal Immunisation Programme’
7. ‘Partnership Launched to Alzheimer’s Worldwide’, World Economic Forum 
8. Routine vaccinations in India disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Ramya Dwivedi
9. ‘COVID-19’s Impact on Measles Vaccination Coverage’, Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Credits:

Concept and Script: Yogini Oke and Shreya Shrivastava

Editing: Akshat Agarwal

Research: Rajashri Seal

Production: Nithin Shamsudhin

Design: Akhil Tom Prakash