India is assessing the production schedule of COVID-19 vaccines for domestic use and the delivery of vaccines to other countries is expected to take some time, said the Ministry of External Affairs on January 14.
Addressing the weekly press briefing, MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava reiterated that India is committed to the use of vaccines for the benefit of humanity on a whole.
In response to questions on India’s regional commitment in helping its neighbours respond to the pandemic, Srivastava asserted that, “It is too early to give a specific response on supplies to other countries, as we are still assessing production schedules and the availability to make decisions in this regard. This may take some time.” He added, the vaccination process is just getting started in India.
Brazil has reportedly become the first country to buy Indian vaccines. A special plane from Brazil to India was scheduled to collect 2 million dozes of Indian vaccines, but was postponed due to policy issues.
Authorities in Bangladesh said on January 13 that Dhaka has sought 30 lakh doses from the Serum Institute of India in Pune, for their frontline workers. While Srivastava did not confirm as to when these consignments will be delivered, he maintained that India would support the world in fighting the pandemic.
India would be a strong competitor to China considering that the former has the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer along with labour and facilities in lower costs.
“Prime Minister has already stated that India’s vaccine production and delivery capacity would be used for the benefit of all humanity in fighting this crisis,” Srivastava concluded.
