Covid vaccine supply to neighbouring countries to begin from January 20: MEA

New Delhi, India will begin supplies of Indian manufactured vaccines to fight the Covid pandemic under grant assistance to Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Seychelles from Wednesday.
Announcing the supply of Indian manufactured vaccines to neighbouring and key partner countries here on Tuesday, the Ministry of External Affairs said the supply of vaccines to contain the spread of Covid-19 pandemic is being taken up in response to several requests received by the government.
The MEA said the supply of Indian manufactured vaccines is in keeping with India’s stated commitment to use India’s vaccine production and delivery capacity to help all of humanity fight the Covid pandemic. “In respect of Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Mauritius, we are awaiting their confirmation of necessary regulatory clearances,” it said in a release here.
The Ministry noted that immunization programme is being implemented in India, as in other countries, in a phased manner to cover the healthcare providers, frontline workers and the most vulnerable. “Keeping in view the domestic requirements of the phased rollout, India will continue to supply COVID-19 vaccines to partner countries over the coming weeks and months in a phased manner. It will be ensured that domestic manufacturers will have adequate stocks to meet domestic requirements while supplying abroad,” it said.
Prior to the delivery of vaccines, a training programme, covering administrative and operational aspects, is being conducted for two days till January 20 for for immunization managers, cold chain officers, communication officers and data managers of the recipient countries, both at national and provincial levels.
The MEA recalled that ndia had earlier supplied hydroxychloroquine, Remdesivir and paracetamol tablets, as well as diagnostic kits, ventilators, masks, gloves and other medical supplies to a large number of countries during the COVID19 pandemic.
“India has also provided training to several neighbouring countries to enhance and strengthen their clinical capabilities, under the Partnerships for Accelerating Clinical Trials (PACT) programme. Separately, several training courses have been organized for healthcare workers and administrators of partner countries under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme, sharing our experience in dealing with the pandemic,” it said.
In an ongoing effort, India will continue to supply countries all over the world with vaccines. This will be calibrated against domestic requirements and international demand and obligations, including under GAVI’s Covax facility to developing countries, it added.