India is suffering immensely under the weight of Covid. Now its failures are threatening much of the world

The lesson from India’s Covid-19 vaccine sagas is stark and simple: Can India be considered a reliable supplier of vaccines during the next pandemic? The country’s reputation as the “pharmacy of the developing world” is taking a beating thanks to its vaccine heist and rickety regulatory capacity. Who will trust a country that blocked the export of paid-for vaccines in the middle of a pandemic? The owner of SII, who will probably be sued for breach of contract by multiple parties, has already announced it will set up manufacturing facilities outside India — a sign for the rest of the world of the Indian government’s missteps in managing this pandemic. Could there be a worse fall from grace for a country whose prime minister was boasting just a few months ago of saving the rest of the developing world?