Pfizer says it will supply Covid vaccine only to central govt, not states

'Allocation of doses and implementation plan within a country is a decision for local governments based on relevant health authority guidance,' says the US drugmaker to Punjab govt

After Moderna, another Covid-19 vaccine manufacturer, Pfizer, has refused to send direct vaccination to Punjab, citing its policy to only deal with the Central government, state Nodal Officer (Vaccination) Vikas Garg said on Monday.

He said the company, in a communication to the state, said: "Pfizer is working with federal governments across the world to supply its Covid-19 vaccine for use in national immunisation programmes."

"Our supply agreements at this time are with national governments and supra-national organisations with allocation of doses and implementation within the country being a decision for local governments based on relevant health authority guidance. This approach Pfizer has followed across the world," the pharma major said.

Pfizer said that the development, manufacturing, distribution and storage of complex innovative products, including the mRNA technology, requires globally-optimized supply chains.

"Since the beginning of this pandemic, Pfizer's priority has been to ensure rapid manufacturing and deployment of the COVID-19 vaccine to cater to the current emergency response scenario. We have a robust supply chain currently in place with established capabilities - one each in the US and one in Europe - that can quickly manufacture and deploy the vaccine for use across the world," the spokesperson said.

Pfizer and BioNTech have set a target to deliver over 2.5 billion vaccine doses in 2021. This includes expanding the manufacturing capabilities and increasing the supplier base for key materials to the supply chain, said the company official.

Garg said various vaccine manufacturers, including Sputnik V, Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson, were approached for direct purchase of Covid vaccines, as per the directions of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to explore possibilities of floating a global tender for the procurement of the vaccines.

He said the reply from Sputnik V and Johnson & Johnson was awaited.

The state was forced to stop vaccination for Phase I and II categories in the last three days because of non-availability of the vaccine.

Punjab has so far received about 4.5 million vaccine doses from the Centre.

Meanwhile, Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Aggarwal said Centre is trying to facilitate Pfizer, Moderna vaccimes via Central-level coordination.

"Working on regulatory facilitation in terms of approval, procurement related facilitation. Order books of Pfizer, Moderna are full most of the time, depends on their surplus how much they can provide. Depending on that they will come back to GOI and based on that we will ensure and facilitate that it is supplied at State level," said Aggarwal at a press briefing on Monday. 

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Monday said Pfizer and Moderna have refused to sell coronavirus vaccines directly to the national capital and have said that they will only talk to the Centre.

In an online briefing, Sisodia said all the 400 vaccination sites for the 18-44 age group have been closed in Delhi after the vaccine stock was over, while the centres administering Covaxin to the 45+ age group, healthcare workers and frontline workers too have been shut due to unavailability of jabs.

Stressing that vaccination is the need of the hour to protect people against the coronavirus, Sisodia said they have spoken to Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson for vaccines.

"Pfizer and Moderna have refused to sell us directly saying they are talking to the Centre. The Centre has not approved Pfizer and Moderna whereas the world over they have been approved and bought by countries," he said.

Sisodia said some countries bought vaccines in advance while these were in trial stage but India did not take any step in that direction.

"We refused approval to Sputnik in 2020 and approved it only last month. or us it's just a game...," he said.

The deputy chief minister urged the Centre to approve Pfizer and Moderna on war footing.

"I urge the Centre not to make this vaccination programme a joke. Approve Pfizer and Moderna on war footing, rather than asking states to approach these companies. It should not happen that by the time we get vaccines, the time comes that even the antibodies of those who have been vaccinated are finished and they will again require vaccination," he said.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had also urged the Centre to procure Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and distribute them to states.

Last week, Reuters reported, while quoting two sources, that Pfizer and the Indian government are seeking to resolve tensions over a demand by the US drugmaker for legal protection from any claims linked to the use of its COVID-19 vaccine in one of the world's biggest markets.

India has not given any manufacturer of a COVID-19 vaccine indemnity against the costs of compensation for any severe side effects, which is a condition Pfizer has obtained in many countries where its shots have already been widely used, including Britain and the United States.

But three other sources told Reuters that some form of legal protection is still on the table as India and Pfizer work to reach a vaccine deal.

Reaching an agreement with Pfizer is critical for India's central government, which is struggling to secure needed COVID-19 vaccine doses as recorded daily cases exceed 250,000.

India pledged last month to fast-track approvals for overseas vaccine makers including Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson and Johnson.

However, none have since sought permission from India's drug regulator to sell their vaccine there.

One source said that another issue being discussed between Pfizer and New Delhi was the Indian government's insistence on a local trial for any vaccine approval. The source added that Pfizer cannot finalize terms of a supply agreement, including indemnity, if the vaccine is not first authorized for use in India.

Pfizer withdrew its application for emergency use authorisation for the vaccine developed with Germany's BioNTech in February after India insisted on such a trial.

But three other shots on sale in India, developed by AstraZeneca, Russia's Sputnik V and Bharat Biotech in collaboration with state-run Indian Council of Medical Research, have completed the small-scale safety trials.

Pfizer's chief executive Albert Bourla said on May 4 that he was hopeful that the government would change its policy of local trials and that a path to delivering the drugmaker's shots in India could be found.