India expects many more Covid-19 vaccines produced in-country to be available to the world soon, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday.
Addressing the World Economic Forum's Davos 2021, he said India had saved many lives around the world by distributing vaccines it had made and building related infrastructure.
India makes about 60 per cent of the world's vaccines and has approved two Covid-19 vaccines so far – one developed in India called Covaxin and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine that was developed in the UK – but trials are under way to expand this number.
Despite having the second highest number of cases globally, India has distributed vaccines to countries including Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Mauritius and Sri Lanka.
AstraZeneca’s vaccine, branded in India as Covishield, is being produced at the Serum Institute of India.
“All at the WEF will be relieved to know that, while so far only two made-in-India Covid vaccines have been introduced to the world, in the near future many more such vaccines will be made available from India,” Mr Modi said.
“These vaccines will help us in assisting countries across the world faster and on a much bigger scale.”
There are about 173,000 active Covid-19 cases in India. It has reported 10.7 million infections and 153,847 deaths.
India launched the world’s largest vaccination drive on January 16 and is aiming to inoculate 300 million elderly people and those most at risk by July.
In 12 days the country has vaccinated more than 2.3 million of its health workers, Mr Modi said. However, surveys show that many Indians – potentially more than half – are hesitant about being vaccinated, and concerns have been raised that Covaxin was rushed through the approval process.
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Madhura Patil, a health worker, gestures as she receives the Covid-19 vaccine in the presence of Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, standing beside her, in Mumbai, India. AP Photo -
A woman is vaccinated against Covid-19 at Rajawadi Hospital in Mumbai, India. EPA -
An Indian health worker holds up the Covishield Covid-19 vaccine, developed by Oxford University and Astra-Zeneca and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, at the Government General Hospital in Jayanagar, Bangalore. EPA -
A beneficiary gets the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine shot manufactured by Serum Institute of India at Rajawadi Hospital in Mumbai, India. EPA -
A Kashmiri doctor receives a Covid-19 vaccine at a government hospital in Srinagar, Kashmir. AP Photo -
A doctor carries a freezer box with Covid-19 vaccine at the King Koti hospital in Hyderabad. AFP -
Medical workers wait to be inoculated with a Covid-19 vaccine at the King Koti hospital in Hyderabad. AFP -
Sanitation worker Manish Kumar, who according to the officials is the first person in India to be vaccinated against Covid-19, receives a dose of Bharat Biotech's Covaxin vaccines at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) hospital in New Delhi. Reuters -
Medical workers wait to be inoculated against Covid-19 at a hospital in New Delhi. AFP -
A security guard keeps watch at a Covid-19 vaccination centre New Delhi. AFP -
Health workers queue to receive the Covid-19 vaccine in Mumbai. AFP -
A medical worker prepares to inoculate a doctor with a Covid-19 vaccine at the Urban Primary Health Centre in Kolkata. AFP -
Employees wearing protective masks wait to welcome health workers at the Dr R N Cooper Municipal General Hospital in Mumbai, India. Bloomberg
