NEGVAC in talks with offshore manufacturers for import of Covid jabs: Govt

In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, MoS for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar said as on July 16, a total of 2.61 lakh doses of the Sputnik V vaccine have been administered in the country

The National Empowered Group on Vaccine Administration against Covid-19 is in regular talks with offshore manufacturers, including Moderna, for importing Covid vaccines, but the exact number of doses to be imported and their manner of allocation have not been finalised yet, the government informed Parliament on Tuesday.
 

In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar said as on July 16, a total of 2.61 lakh doses of the Sputnik V vaccine have been administered in the country.
 

On how the government plans the allocation of the Moderna vaccine and the number of doses to be procured, the minister said, "The NEGVAC (National Empowered Group on Vaccine Administration against Covid-19) is in regular dialogue with offshore Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers including Moderna for import of Covid vaccines. However, the exact number of doses to be imported and their manner of allocation have not been finalised yet."

On the current status of the arrival of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in India, Pawar said the Covid-19 vaccine manufactured by Moderna has been approved for restricted use in emergency situation by the Drugs Controller general of India (DCGI), while the one manufactured by Pfizer is not yet approved by the national drugs regulator.
 

No doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines have so far been received under the US donation programme, the minister said in response to another question, adding that the NEGVAC is deliberating with offshore manufacturers, including Moderna and Pfizer, for the procurement of vaccines.