Sharjah24 – AFP: India will resume exporting Covid-19 vaccines from October, five months after it stopped sending supplies abroad in the face of a deadly wave of infections, the health minister said Monday.
The South Asian giant, dubbed the "pharmacy of the world", was a major supplier to the Covax programme aimed at ensuring poor countries can access doses.
Exports stopped in April, according to foreign ministry data, when a virus surge in India pushed the healthcare system to breaking point and there was a huge demand for jabs.
Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said more than 300 million vaccine doses would be produced in October and one billion in the last three months of the year.
"India will be resuming export of vaccines... in order to fulfill the commitment of India towards Covax," Mandaviya said in a statement.
"The surplus supply of vaccines will be used to fulfill our commitment towards the world for the collective fight against Covid-19."
Covax is co-led by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Gavi vaccine alliance and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, with UNICEF using its vaccine logistics expertise to handle the delivery flights.
Under Covax, the 92 poorest countries can access jabs for free, with donors covering the cost.
The Serum Institute of India (SII) plant, producing AstraZeneca doses, was supposed to be the early backbone of Covax's supply chain.
A Gavi spokesman welcomed the news from New Delhi.
The country hit a record 22 million coronavirus jabs in a day on Friday as part of a special vaccination drive for the birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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