NEW DELHI (AP) – India said on Tuesday it would approve the use of all coronavirus vaccines urgently issued by the World Health Organization or regulators in the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom or Japan.
The Indian Ministry of Health said the decision was aimed at speeding up the use of photographs taken in other countries and expanding the “vaccine basket” available for domestic use. The country of almost 1.4 billion people is facing a disabling increase in infections that threatens to overwhelm hospitals in heavily affected cities.
The only way out of the crisis, experts say, is to vaccinate more people.
But this has global implications, as India is a major producer of vaccines, and India’s domestic needs have delayed the delivery of photos to the UN-backed COVAX initiative, which aims to distribute vaccines fairly.
Earlier, India nodded to the AstraZeneca vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India and another made by the Indian company Bharat Biotech.
Vaccines that have received emergency use permits from regulators in the US, Europe, the UK, Japan or the World Health Organization can now be used in India. The Ministry of Health also declared on Tuesday that the Russian Sputnik V vaccine was lit green for emergency use.
The Ministry of Health said that safety will be monitored in the first 100 people who receive these photos, before its use is extended to include others.
Dr Shahid Jameel, who studies viruses at Ashoka University in India, said that while the move was unlikely to help the country cope with its current growth, it would contribute to the availability of vaccines in the future. consequently vaccines that could then be exported.
He said this would pave the way for India to use vaccines made by companies with an Indian production partner. For example, vaccine manufacturer Biological E Ltd is contracted to make the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine.
Jameel added that this could open up the market for vaccines that require ultra-cold storage facilities to be sold in cities where such facilities are available. Vaccine prices in India are currently limited to 250 rupees or $ 3.30. This will also free the government from subsidizing vaccines for the poor, while those who can afford to buy more expensive vaccines can do so.
Russia has agreements with five Indian pharmaceutical companies to produce more than 850 million doses of Sputnik V vaccines in India worldwide. It has also reached an agreement with Dr. Reddy’s laboratories to conduct late studies and distribute up to 250 million doses in India.
But with four of the five transactions in Russia closed in March and April, the doses will probably be delivered later in the year. Moreover, Russia’s first production agreement with India was concluded with Hetero Biopharma for 100 million doses – but it is not clear if it has started making doses. Hetero Biopharma did not answer questions from The Associated Press.
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