India, the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines, wants to resume exports of coronavirus doses but can’t do so until its domestic needs are met, the head of the country’s COVID-19 task force said Friday.
Once our immediate need of vaccinating a significant proportion of Indian people is achieved and vaccine stockpiles are visible from multiple sources, we would then like to play the role of serving others and providing vaccines to them, Dr Vinod K Paul said in an interview. Paul defended the Indian government’s move to restrict vaccine exports in April as it battled a ferocious surge in infections.
He noted that India had given away a substantial amount of vaccines at the start of the year as it launched its own immunisation drive. So that has to be respected and has to be recognized, as not many nations have done that, he said.
Paul said a resumption of exports is still very much on the radar. But when asked when the restrictions would be lifted, he answered, It is not fair to put any date at this point in time.
