India to get a share of 80 mn US vaccines through Covax

Washington: India will be receiving a share of the 80 million (8 crores) unused Covid-19 vaccines through the UN-backed Covax global vaccine sharing programme that President Joe Biden has announced, according to a senior State Department official.

On June 2, President Biden announced that the US will allocate 75 per cent - nearly 1.9 crores of the first tranche of 2.5 crore doses - of unused Covid-19 vaccines from its stockpile through the UN-backed Covax global vaccine sharing programme to countries in South and Southeast Asia as well as Africa.

The move is part of his administration's framework for sharing 80 million (8 crores) vaccines globally by the end of June.

According to a White House fact sheet, nearly 19 million vaccines will be shared through Covax. "I don't have the specific details on when the shipment of vaccines will be arriving in India.

Of course, India will be in receipt of a share of those 80 million vaccines and through Covax, I believe there were some six million vaccines destined for the region," State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday.