The Union health ministry has fast-tracked approvals for foreign-made COVID-19 vaccines that have been granted emergency use authorisation in other countries.
The roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines by Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson (J&J) in India could take a few months since the companies have not yet formed their strategies.
Pfizer could experience difficulties due to limited manufacturing capacity, The Times of India has reported. The companies said they would take a few days to crystallise their plans, the report said.
Moneycontrol could not independently verify the story.
The second wave of COVID-19 cases in India has created an urgent need to expand the programme and number of vaccines available.
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The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on April 13 said it is fast-tracking approvals for foreign-made COVID-19 vaccines that have been granted Emergency Use Authorisation (EAU) in other countries.
This means that vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and J&J could potentially be approved in India.
“We have noted the recent announcement with regard to the regulatory pathway for global vaccines. We remain committed to continuing our engagement with the government towards making the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine available for use in the government’s immunisation program in the country,” a Pfizer spokesperson told The Times of India.
J&J has begun talks with the Centre for bridging clinical trials and approval of its vaccine against COVID-19. Pfizer had earlier applied for EUA in India but later withdrew its application after a lack of data from local clinical trials.
