Centre issues Letter of Comfort to Bharat Biotech for 4.5 mn Covaxin doses

. Bharat Biotech said it has also donated 16.5 lakh doses to the Government of India. Sources further said the supplies from the company depend on the orders being placed by the government

Bharat Biotech has secured a fresh Letter of Comfort from the Centre for another 4.5 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin, sources said.

Out of the 4.5 millioon doses, the city-based vaccine maker will be supplying over 800,000 to some of the friendly countries such as Mauritius, Philippines and Myanmar, free of cost as good will gesture sources added.

"The company was given a fresh letter of comfort recently for supplying another 4.5 million doses of Covaxin.

The doses will be dispatched as when the Ministry places orders with the company," sources told PTI.

After having received the government purchase order for 5.5 million doses, BharatBiotech shipped the first batch of vaccines (each vial containing 20 doses) to Gannavaram (Vijayawada), Guwahati, Patna, Delhi, Kurukshetra, Bangalore, Pune, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur, Chennai and Lucknow, it said.

Bharat Biotech said it has also donated 1.65 million doses to the Government of India.

Sources further said the supplies from the company depend on the orders being placed by the government.