New Delhi (CU)_ According to the reports from Indian Foreign Ministry official, India will start exporting COVID-19 vaccines to foreign countries within two weeks of their launch. The official also disapproved the reports which said that India will ban exports of vaccines until it meets its local demand. Soutik Biswas, Indian correspondent for BBC said, “The foreign ministry official confirmed that India’s plan to help other countries was on track”.
Another BBC official also said that the vaccine will be ready within two weeks. He said, “Within a fortnight of the rollout of the vaccines we will allow exports to some of our South Asian neighbors. Some of these exports will be paid by us as gifts, and the others will be supplied at roughly the same price the government will be buying the vaccines at”. He also said that India cares about the neighboring countries too. He said, “India is completely conscious of its commitments to neighbors and the rest of the world as the world’s biggest vaccine maker”.
Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India, in an attempt to clear the confusions, took to Twitter and said that exports of COVID vaccines are allowed to all countries. He tweeted, “I would like to clarify two issues; as there is confusion in the public domain, the export of vaccines to all countries is permitted and a joint public statement clearing up any recent miscommunication regarding Bharat Biotech will be made”.
Bangladesh and Serum Institute of India have already signed a contract for 30 million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, and as per the agreement, the Serum Institute will deliver five million doses of vaccine each month.
The tweet of Poonawalla and the comments from foreign ministry come as a matter of concern as to whether the drug delivery to Bangladesh would be delayed following the Serum Institute’s announcement on Sunday that it plans to prioritize meeting India’s own immediate demand in the next two months before exporting to other countries. The government, however, assured that drug delivery will be done as planned.
