India will resume COVID-19 vaccine exports from next quarter, giving priority to the global platform for sharing COVAX vaccines and neighboring countries as supplies increase, according to the health minister.
India, the world’s largest maker of vaccines, halted exports of COVID injections in April to focus on vaccinating its population as infections erupted.
The country’s monthly vaccine production has doubled and is set to quadruple to more than 300 million doses next month, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said, adding that only surplus supplies would be exported.
“We will help other countries and also fulfill our responsibility to COVAX,” said Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.
Media reports last week said India was considering resuming COVID-19 vaccine exports soon. It donated or sold 66 million doses in nearly 100 countries before the export ban.
The announcement of the resumption of exports comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States this week, where vaccines are likely to be discussed at a summit of leaders of the United States, India, Japan and Australia.
India wants to vaccinate all of its 944 million adults by December, while so far it has given at least one dose to 64 per cent of them and two doses to 22 per cent.
India’s vaccinations have risen since last month, especially as the world’s largest vaccine maker, India’s Serum Institute, has tripled its AstraZeneca production to 200 million doses a month since April levels.
Indian companies have built the capacity to produce nearly three billion doses of COVID vaccine per year.
On Monday, India reported 30,256 new COVID-19 infections and 295 deaths, bringing the total number of cases to 33.48 million and the death toll to 445,133.
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