India will resume the export and donations of excess vaccines next month, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced on Monday, each day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the US where the problem was likely to be raised by President Joe Biden.
India, the world’s biggest maker of vaccines overall, stopped vaccine exports in April to specialise in inoculating its own population as infections exploded.
The government wants to vaccinate all of its 94.4 crore adults by December and has to date given a minimum of one dose to 61 per cent of them.
The resumption of exports deliberations come sooner than PM Modi’s visit to Washington starting Tuesday where vaccines are likely to be discussed at a summit of the leaders of the Quad countries – the us, India, Japan and Australia.
The renewed export drive, referred to as ‘Vaccine Maitri’ will prioritise the world vaccine-sharing platform COVAX and neighbouring countries first, Mr Mandaviya said.
He said that since April, the country’s monthly vaccine output has since over doubled and is about to quadruple to over 300 million doses next month
Total production could top 100 crore within the last three months of the year as new vaccines from companies like Biological E are likely to be approved, he said.
“We will help other countries and also fulfil our responsibility towards COVAX… Neighbouring (countries) first,” he told reporters, adding only excess supplies would be exported.
India donated or sold 6.6 crore doses to almost 100 countries before the export halt.
India’s inoculations have jumped since last month, especially because the world’s biggest vaccine maker, the Serum Institute of India, has over trebled its output of the AstraZeneca shot to twenty crore doses a month from April levels.
Indian companies have founded the capacity to provide nearly 300 crore COVID vaccine doses a year.
