India has delivered more than 36 million doses of coronavirus vaccines to various countries, of which 6.75 million doses have been provided as aid, a Foreign Ministry (MEA) spokesman said in a press release on Thursday.
“As of now, we have supplied a total of 36,194,000 doses to different countries. This includes 6,750,000 doses provided under assistance and 29,444,000 doses under various commercial contracts,” said MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava.
India is the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer and has promised to donate millions of doses to neighboring countries. The country’s Serum Institute manufactures the vaccine developed in the UK by AstraZeneca for domestic use and export.
The supply of vaccines to countries will continue in phases over the coming weeks and months, while ensuring that the domestic requirements for the national vaccination program are kept in mind, he added.
India has sent shipments of doses of Covid-19 vaccines as gifts to countries such as Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Bahrain, Oman, Afghanistan, Barbados and Dominica.
India also offered locally produced vaccines to all members of the diplomatic corps (foreign missions) and their families in the country, Srivastava said.
“It is being offered not only to the diplomats of countries but also to those of the UN agencies and intergovernmental organizations working in India. This thrust will cover all the places where they are located,” he said.
Countries that have received the vaccines under commercial contracts include Brazil, Morocco, Myanmar, Egypt, Algeria, South Africa, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
Daily new cases in India have dropped and dropped from a peak of over 90,000 infections in September to just over 10,000 per day in February. On February 9, the capital Delhi reports no virus deaths for the first time in almost nine months, according to COVID19INDIA, a website that collects Covid-19 data from official sources.