India’s COVID-19 vaccination policy-an analysis of problem, politics and policy

Abstract

Purpose – The article aims to critically examine India’s COVID-19 vaccination policy by analyzing the problem, politics and policy developed during the pandemic. The article would help the policy-makers and healthcare administrators to understand the situation in a holistic manner. Design/methodology/approach – The article employs Kingdon’s multiple streams framework, which separately analyzes the problem at hand, the politics that are at work and the policy which is being developed when the problem and politics streams are activated. Directed approach to content analysis is adopted in this article. Findings – The article provides a holistic overview of vaccine development and the vaccination policy during the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Practical implications – The analysis would help policy-makers and healthcare administrators to have a bird’s-eye view of the COVID-19 vaccine development and the vaccination drive. Originality/value – The article is a macro-level analysis of an extremely important situation of COVID-19 vaccine development and the subsequent vaccination drive for the world’s largest democracy, which is also one of the largest drugs and vaccine manufacturing countries. The article captures the bird’s-eye-view of the problem of vaccine development, the policy of funding as well as procurement, and the politics of vaccine distribution in the country.