NEW DELHI (AP) – India will not allow the export of the Oxford University AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine for several months, said the head of the Serum Institute of India, which has been contracted to make 1 billion doses of the vaccine for developing countries. , Said Sunday.
As rich countries discuss the most vaccinations made this year, Serum Institute – the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer – is likely to make the most vaccinations for developing countries. However, the export ban means that poorer countries will probably have to wait a few months before they get their first shots.
The vaccine was granted emergency permission by the Indian regulator on Sunday, but on condition that Serum Institute does not carry out the shots to ensure that vulnerable populations in India are protected, Adar Poonawalla, the company’s CEO, said in a telephone interview with The said. Associated Press.
He said the company also could not sell the vaccine on the private market.
“At the moment we can only give (the vaccines) to the Government of India,” Poonawalla said, adding that the decision was also taken to prevent storage.
As a result, he said that the export of vaccines for COVAX – the ambitious initiative created to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines established by the World Health Organization, the vaccine alliance GAVI and CEPI, a global coalition for epidemics to fight, ‘won’ start until March or April.
Poonawalla said Serum Institute is currently signing a major contract with COVAX for 300-400 million doses of the vaccine. This is in addition to two existing orders of 100 million doses each for the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, and another one from Novovax. He said the deal would be finalized in the coming weeks.
He said the first 100 million doses of the vaccine would be sold to the Indian government at a ‘special price’ of 200 rupees ($ 2.74) per dose, after which prices would be higher. The vaccine will be sold on the private market at 1,000 rupees ($ 13.68) per dose. He said vaccines could be delivered to Indian states where needed, within seven to ten days of the company concluding an agreement with India’s government.
Poonawalla said its company plans to give 200 to 300 million doses of the vaccine to COVAX by December 2021. He acknowledges that the company will have to balance the distribution of vaccines between India and COVAX.
“We can not vaccinate everyone now. We can prioritize, ”he said.
Serum Institute is also negotiating bilateral agreements with individual countries, including Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia and Morocco, Poonawalla said. “So that the most vulnerable are cared for in the countries of our country or in other parts of other countries,” he said.
Poonawalla said that should all the plans of various global vaccine manufacturers succeed, he still expects a worldwide shortage of coronavirus vaccines during the next year.
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