New Delhi: India will not allow Oxford University-Astrazeneca coronavirus vaccine to be exported for several months, the head of the serum institute India f India, which has agreed to make 1 billion doses of the vaccine for developing countries, said on Sunday. .
With rich nations reserving most vaccines this year, the world’s largest vaccine-producing serum organization is expected to make the most inoculations for developing countries. A ban on exports, however, means that poorer nations will have to wait a few months to get their first shot.
The vaccine was approved for emergency The company’s CEO, Adar Poonawala, said in a phone interview with the Associated Press on Sunday on the condition that the Serum Institute not export shots to ensure the safety of vulnerable people in India, but by the Indian regulator.
The company has also been banned from selling the vaccine in the private market, he said.
“We can only give (vaccine) to the government of India at this time. It was also decided to stop the hoarding,” Poonawala said.
As a result, he said, the export of vaccines for Kovacs – an ambitious initiative designed to ensure equal access to the Kovid-19 vaccines developed by the World Health Organization, the global alliance to fight the epidemic, the vaccine alliance GAVI and CEPI – won. ‘T won’t start until March or April.
Poonawala said the Serum Institute is preparing to sign a major agreement with Kovacs for 300 million-400 million doses of the vaccine. That is apart from the two orders of 100 million doses each for the vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca and another one of the existing Novovox. He said the deal would be finalized next week.
He said the first 100 million doses of the vaccine were being sold to the Government of India at a “special price” of 200D ((2.74), after which prices would be higher. The vaccine would be sold in the private market at Rs. He said the vaccine could be delivered to states in India where they are needed within seven to 10 days of the company’s finalization with the Government of India.
Poonawala said his company plans to deliver 200 million to 300 million doses of the vaccine to Kovacs by December 2021. He acknowledged that the company needs to strike a balance between vaccine distribution between India and COAVX.
“We can’t vaccinate everyone right now. We can give priority, ”he said.
Poonawala said the serum institute was also negotiating bilateral agreements with individual countries, including Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia and Morocco. “So that at least the most vulnerable people in the states of our country or in other parts of other countries are taken care of,” he said.
Poonawala said that even if all the schemes by various global vaccine manufacturers are to be successful, he expects a global shortage of coronavirus vaccines in the coming year.
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The Associated Press The Department of Health and Science is supported by the Department of Science Education at Howard Hughes Medical Institute. AP is fully responsible for all content.
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