New Delhi: Pfizer, the US pharma industry giant, is nearing the end of the process to obtain approval for the vaccine Covid-19. ‘I hope very soon we will finalize an agreement with the government,’ Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said.
This development comes amid reports that the Indian government is in talks with the US pharma major to find a middle-ground for supplying vaccines in India. ‘Any final decision on vaccine imports has to be compatible with Indian laws and the government was hopeful that these vaccines would be available in the country before the end of this year,’ government advisor, Vinod Kumar Paul said.
It should be noted that India is on the verge of granting indemnification to foreign vaccine manufacturers, such as Moderna and Pfizer. According to the media report, indemnity will be given to foreign vaccine manufacturers. ‘If one company gets it, then all of them get it,’ quoted a report.
India’s healthcare officials invited Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and Pfizer to supply vaccines to India during the middle of the second wave of COVID-19 in April. Nevertheless, the country has not signed any agreement with the pharma giant since it has reportedly not provided vaccines to any country without signing an indemnity for adverse effects of its vaccines.
There is speculation that the Pfizer vaccine may be available in India by August. However, the company hasn’t issued an official statement on the matter. The government has already agreed to do away with the company’s demand to conduct trials on the local people. As per reports, the first recipients of Pfizer shots will be observed before a mass roll-out across the population.
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