The Serum Institute of India has said it may not resume the export of COVID-19 vaccine doses till the end of 2021.
Amid a deadly second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, India’s vaccine programme is being hobbled by supply shortages.
The Serum Institute is one of the largest vaccine makers in the world and the organisation behind the COVAX facility,
Washington Post reports that as India confronts a devastating Covid outbreak where thousands are dying each day, the country desperately needs to vaccinate its population as soon as possible yet the vaccine drive is stumbling just when it is most crucial.
A statement from SII signed by the Chief Executive Officer, Adar Ponawalla, on Wednesday said the institute would now focus more on boosting the vaccine drive for India.
According to SII, the decision to support other countries was taken at a time when the daily cases recorded in India were low.
For now, it said while it would scale up manufacturing, it would prioritise India.
“In the past few days, there has been an intense discussion on the decision of the government and Indian vaccine manufacturers, including the Serum Institute of India to export vaccines.
“In January 2021, we had a large stockpile of vaccine doses. Our vaccination drive had started successfully and the number of daily cases being recorded was at an all-time low.
“Around the same time, many other countries in the world were facing an acute crisis and were in desperate need of help. Our government extended support wherever possible during this period.
“We will not be safe till everyone globally is able to defeat this virus at a global scale. Further, as part of our global alliances, we also had commitments to COVAX, so that they could distribute the vaccines globally to end the pandemic.
“SII has delivered more than 200 million doses, even though we received EUA two months after the US pharma companies. If we look at total doses produced and delivered, we rank amongst the top three in the world. We continue to scale up manufacturing and prioritise India. We also hope to start delivering to COVAX and other countries by the end of this year,” the statement read in part.
India has reported more than 25 million cases and over 283,000 deaths so far.
But experts suggest the figures undercount the actual toll as testing is limited in some places, particularly in rural areas currently experiencing a surge in cases.