India in talks to buy 50 million doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine: Report

NEW DELHI: The government of India is in talks to buy 50 million doses of Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech SE`s COVID-19 vaccine, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The American multinational pharmaceutical firm and the Health Ministry have not confirmed the report as of now. The US drugmaker has not yet sought permission for use of its COVID-19 vaccine in India.

India, which rolled out one of the world`s largest vaccination drives earlier this year, has been relying heavily on the AstraZeneca vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India and a home-grown shot produced by Bharat Biotech.

Indian health authorities are also in an advanced stage of negotiations with Johnson & Johnson, which has a deal with India-based Biological E. Ltd, to manufacture as many as 600 million doses, starting as soon as this month, the Journal reported.

Last week, the country approved J&J`s one-shot vaccine for emergency use, adding to the vaccines from AstraZeneca, Bharat Biotech, Russia`s Gamaleya Institute and Moderna, which have been granted such approval.

In a related development, the Health Ministry said that more than 53.24 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been provided to states and UTs so far and a further 72,40,250 doses are in the pipeline.

Of this, the total consumption including wastage is 51,56,11,035 doses.

The Health Ministry further stated that over 2.25 crore balance and unutilised COVID-19 vaccine doses are available with the States, Union Territories and private hospitals, and the vaccines are yet to be administered.