RNS: In accordance with Indian commitments to leverage its vaccine development and supply potential to help the global war against COVID-19, the External Affairs Ministry official said, supplies to million of the dose of Coronavirus vaccine to Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Seychelles have been begun under grant assistance.
There were also plans to provide vaccines to Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Mauritius, after “confirmation of necessary regulatory clearances”, it said.
“It will be ensured that domestic manufacturers will have adequate stocks to meet domestic requirements while supplying abroad,” the external affairs ministry said.
Bhutan, the Maldives and Bangladesh are among the first countries in the neighbourhood to receive the COVID-19 vaccines from India as grant assistance, the official said.
Branded the move as “VaccineMaitri” Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: “India is deeply honoured to be a long-trusted partner in meeting the healthcare needs of the global community. Supplies of COVID-19 vaccines to several countries will commence tomorrow, and more will follow in the days ahead.”
Modi also tweeted: India is deeply honoured to be a “long-trusted” partner in meeting the healthcare needs of the global community and that supplies of the vaccines to several countries will commence on Wednesday (20 January), and more will follow in the days ahead.
India is one of the world’s biggest drugmakers, and an increasing number of countries have already approached it for procuring coronavirus vaccines.
Notably, India has already rolled out a massive coronavirus vaccination drive under which two vaccines, Covishield and Covaxin, are being administered to frontline health workers across the country. While Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield is being manufactured by the Serum Institute, Covaxin is being produced by Bharat Biotech.
