NEW DELHI (Reuters) – A World Health Organization (WHO) program to deliver coronavirus vaccines to poorer countries expects the Indian Serum Institute (IBS) to resume full AstraZeneca deliveries shot in May, it said on Saturday UNICEF.
“SII / AZ vaccine deliveries are expected to start again by May, with recovery deliveries to reach the full allocation of each participant by May, accelerating thereafter,” a spokeswoman for Reuters said. UNICEF.
The spokesman added that the program, known as COVAX, was in talks with New Delhi to secure “a supply amount” in April as well. COVAX expected a total of 90 million doses from IBS in March and April, of which it received approximately 28 million.
UNICEF is the distribution partner of the program, developed in conjunction with the GAVI vaccine alliance.
India, the world’s largest vaccine maker, said on Friday it would make domestic vaccinations COVID-19 a priority as infections grow and communicated its decision to international buyers.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday that India’s decision was “understandable” but that the WHO was in talks, so it continued to offer doses in other countries.
To date, COVAX has delivered 32 million doses of vaccine in 61 countries, but 36 countries are still waiting for vaccines to begin vaccinations, Tedros said.
Reporting by Krishna N. Das; Montage by Frances Kerry