From Labs to Jabs: How agility, ability and adaptability led to the success of India’s COVID-19 vaccination program

by Rajesh Chandwani, Vinita Sindhwani Satija, Ranjan Ghosh

This book is a first-hand account of how India's COVID-19 Vaccine Program successfully delivered over a billion jabs in less than 2 years. The authors, in an engaging manner, reveal to the readers those critical levers that led to this phenomenal accomplishment and drew the world’s attention to India. Based on interactions with the key people involved in this mega-crisis time management, it lays bare the strategies and actions that led to the purposeful indigenization of supply chains despite regulatory complexities, time and resource constraints.

The book describes the entire process as they happened, starting from formation of national expert groups, the vaccine development and approval processes - including the masterstroke of rolling reviews – that critically balanced speed with safety, funding mechanisms, setting up and operationalizing cold chains, human resource mobilization, technology leveraging in the form of apps, public perception management to overcome vaccine hesitancy up to the facility management for final jabs. The authors also identify critical systemic bottlenecks and discuss the recipe for a new normal of decision-making.

A masterclass of adaptive governance and agile management this book will be essential reading for management and health professionals, public administrators, business leaders, managers who want to lead successful teams as well as those generally interested in how policy processes work in real time.

Kindle Edition

Expected publication December 29, 2025