India delays big exports of AstraZeneca shot as infections surge | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

India delays big exports of AstraZeneca shot as infections surge | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

India has put a temporary hold on all major exports of the AstraZeneca coronavirus shot made by the Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's biggest vaccine-maker, to meet domestic demand as infections rise, two sources told Reuters.

The move will also affect supplies to the GAVI/WHO-backed Covax vaccine-sharing facility through which more than 180 countries are expected to get doses, one of the sources said.

Covax has so far received 17.7 million AstraZeneca doses from the SII, of the 60.5 million doses India has shipped in total, and many countries are relying on the programme to immunise their citizens.

There have been no vaccine exports from India since Thursday, the foreign ministry's website shows, as the country expands its own immunisation effort.

“Everything else has taken a backseat, for the time being at least,”