New Delhi (NVI): India has supplied 56 lakh doses under grant assistance to foreign countries while another 100 lakh doses as commercial supplies so far, the Ministry of External Affairs said today.
“We have so far supplied vaccines to Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, the UAE, Brazil, Morocco, Bahrain, Oman, Egypt, Algeria, Kuwait and South Africa,” MEA spokesman Anurag Srivastava said.
He further informed that external supplies of vaccines are an ongoing process, depending on availability and domestic requirements. “In coming weeks, Indian vaccines are scheduled to reach CARICOM countries (the Caribbean), Pacific Island States, Nicaragua, Afghanistan, Mongolia, etc,” Srivastava added.
Pertinent to mention here that under its Vaccine Maitri initiative, India is supplying Covid vaccines to friendly neighbours, key partners and other countries.
India has so far approved two vaccines — Covishield and Covaxin — for emergency use. In January, the Covaxin produced by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), was given approval. The other vaccine- Covishield, is developed by Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII).
-ARK