India in talks to buy 50 million doses of Pfizer vaccine – WSJ

Aug.11 (Reuters) – India is in talks to purchase 50 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and its German partner BioNTech SE (22UAy.DE), Wall Street reported on Wednesday. Journal, citing people familiar with the matter.

A spokesperson for Pfizer said it was in talks with the government to provide vaccines, but declined to provide further details. India’s health ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

True, the drug maker has yet to apply for permission to use its vaccine in India.

India launched one of the world’s largest vaccination campaigns earlier this year and relied heavily on the AstraZeneca vaccine (AZN.L) produced by the Serum Institute of India and a local vaccine produced by Bharat Biotech. Read more

As coronavirus cases in the country declined after a devastating spike in April and May, government officials said the second wave was not over.

Experts have said large-scale vaccination is India’s best bet against the rapidly spreading Delta variant of the coronavirus.

The country has fully immunized more than 115 million people, or about 12% of its estimated 944 million adults, according to the latest government data. The government aims to vaccinate the entire adult population by December. Read more

Authorities are also at an advanced stage of negotiations with Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), which has an agreement with Indian firm Biological E. Ltd, to manufacture up to 600 million doses, as of this month. , according to the Journal reported.

Last week, the country approved J & J’s single-injection vaccine for emergency use, adding to vaccines from AstraZeneca, Bharat Biotech, the Russian Gamaleya Institute and Moderna (MRNA.O) which have received this approval. Read more

Reporting by Manojna Maddipatla and Anuron Kumar Mitra in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur

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