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Pfizer withdrew its application on February 3 after the expert body under India’s drug regulator declined to recommend emergency use authorisation for Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine.
As the second wave swelled in India and it was clear that the country would fall far short of the vaccine requirements, the government on April 13 made a U-turn announcing that it would not enforce the condition of phase 2 and 3 clinical trials in the country for vaccines that had already been cleared by US, EU, UK and Japanese regulators, and listed by the WHO, The Indian Express reported.
After about than a month and a half, despite the liberalised regulation, Pfizer and Moderna are yet to enter any agreement with India.
Between February 3 and May 24, India has reported 1,49,017 Covid-related deaths. May has turned out to be the deadliest month since the outbreak of coronavirus. Since May 1, India has reported 95,390 deaths related to the infection, accounting for 31.41 percent of the total deaths. The shortage of vaccines has slowed or stopped vaccinations across the country — and the failure to vaccinate threatens to take away gains from the lockdowns imposed by almost all states.
The report added that it does not seem likely that India will be receiving doses from either Pfizer or Moderna any time soon as several other countries are ahead of India in line, waiting for delivery of their confirmed orders. The two American vaccine companies, which began supplying vaccines in December 2020, are committed to delivering millions of doses to these countries through 2023.
The Union Health Ministry appeared to accept this reality. “Whether it is Pfizer or Moderna, we have been coordinating at the central level… Both Pfizer and Moderna, most of the time, their order books are already full. It is depending on their surplus on how much they can provide to India. They will come back to Government of India and we will ensure that their doses can be supplied at state level,” Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary in the Ministry, said.
Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived in the US on Monday to meet with top American officials and vaccine manufacturers to discuss procurement for India.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also announced yesterday that Pfizer and Moderna had communicated that they would not sell directly to states. Punjab said that after Moderna, Pfizer too had declined its request for doses.
Pfizer has already received orders worth hundred million doses while EU accounting for 2.4 billion doses in 2020. Moderna too has received of million doses to both US and European Union.
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