New Delhi, Sept. 20 (BNA) – India, the world’s largest producer of vaccines, will resume exports and donations of surplus coronavirus vaccines in October after stopping them during a devastating wave of domestic infections in April, the Indian Health Minister said on Monday.
Mansukh Mandavia said the surplus vaccines would be used to fulfill India’s “commitment to the world for the collective fight against COVID-19”, but that vaccinating Indians would remain a “top priority” for the government.
India was expected to be a major supplier to the world and to the UN-backed initiative aimed at equality in vaccines known as COVAX.
It began exporting doses in January but stopped doing so to vaccinate its population during a massive surge in infections in April that pushed India’s health system to breaking point.
The halt in exports has left many developing countries without adequate supplies and delayed vaccinations for millions of people.
Before halting exports, India donated or sold 66 million doses of vaccine to nearly 100 countries, according to the Associated Press.
The Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine maker, now produces an estimated 150 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine each month, more than doubling since April.
The rate of vaccinations in India has increased in recent months. India, with a population of nearly 1.4 billion, has provided more than 800 million doses of vaccine. It has given at least one dose to more than 62% of the eligible adult population and two doses to approximately 22%.
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