India has put a temporary hold on all major exports of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 shot made by the Serum Institute of India, the world’s biggest vaccine maker, to meet domestic demand as infections rise, two sources said.
The move would also affect supplies to the WHO-backed global COVAX program, through which 64 lower-income countries are supposed to get doses from the institute, the program’s procurement and distributing partner, UNICEF, told reporters.
“We understand that deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines to lower-income economies participating in the COVAX facility will likely face delays following a setback in securing export licenses for further doses of COVID-19 vaccines produced by the Serum Institute of India, expected to be shipped in March and April,” UNICEF said in an e-mail. “COVAX is in talks with the government of India with a view to ensuring deliveries as quickly as possible.”
The Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the institute did not reply to requests for comment.
COVAX has so far received 17.7 million AstraZeneca doses from the institute, of the 60.5 million doses India has shipped in total, and many countries are relying on the program to immunize their citizens.
There had been no vaccine exports from India since yesterday, the ministry’s Web site showed, as the country expands its own immunization effort.
“Everything else has taken a back seat, for the time being at least,” one of the sources said.
Both sources had direct knowledge of the matter, but declined to be named as the discussions are not public.
“No exports, nothing till the time the India situation stabilizes,” one of the sources said. “The government won’t take such a big chance at the moment when so many need to be vaccinated in India.”
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