EU reportly seeks 10 million AstraZenca vaccines from India

Exclusive: EU seeks 10 million AstraZeneca vaccines from India to meet shortfall - Indian source The European Union has asked India to allow it to buy 10 million doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine from Serum Institute of India, a government official told Reuters, the latest sign of growing pressure on Delhi to export more of its production to other countries. Neha Arora U.S.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The European Union has asked India to allow it to buy 10 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine from Serum Institute of India, a government official told Reuters, the latest sign of growing pressure on Delhi to export more of its production to other countries.

The EU wants the doses from Serum, the world’s largest vaccine maker, to offset supply shortfalls from AstraZeneca’s European plants and speed up the bloc’s vaccine roll-out.

Any quick approval of the EU request is unlikely, however, with India scrambling to expand its own domestic vaccination drive, said the Indian government official, who asked not to be named as the discussions are private.

Britain is also pressuring India to export the second half of 10 million doses it had ordered from Serum, the source said.

Serum was originally supposed to produce the AstraZeneca vaccine only for low and medium-income countries. ...

India, however, has said that it is now focused on expanding its own immunisation drive as COVID-19 cases have surged since March.

Its decision to focus on its domestic needs, which came after the government was criticised at home for shipping tens of millions of doses overseas, will also affect the WHO-backed global network for vaccine distribution, known as COVAX. The network aims to secure COVID-19 vaccines primarily for dozens of poorer nations.

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