We have not stopped supply of vaccines, we are giving priority to domestic demand: India

DELHI: India has denied statements by the international community that it has banned the supply of Astrozen vaccines. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs ) has said that domestic supply has been given priority instead of restricting supply.

At a weekly press conference, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Friday claimed that India had not stopped the supply of vaccines. He said the vaccine would be exported only after India’s domestic demand was met.

Nepal’s vaccination campaign against COVID-19 has been postponed due to the stop in vaccine supply by India. The Serum Institute of India has yet to supply 1 million doses of vaccine as per the 2 million vaccine supply agreement and has already received payment for it.

India had written to Nepal saying that it would resume the supply of vaccines soon but is unable to provide the vaccines to Nepal immediately. The Indian Foreign Ministry has temporarily suspended the supply of vaccines abroad, according to media reports, including the BBC.

Nepal had launched the vaccination campaign on January 27 after India provided the vaccine on concessional terms. The government has secured Rs 500,000 to give the second dose to those who have taken the first dose  On April 2, Serum provided 1 million doses to Nepal as per the agreement.

The health ministry has not said whether the vaccine will arrive by Friday. Speaking to Nepal Press last week, Health Minister Hridayesh Tripathi said that he was in touch with the political and administrative leadership of India to ensure a smooth supply of vaccines.

It is seen that the government plan to vaccinate the eligible population within three months will not be completed if India does not supply the vaccine. However, the chief expert of the Ministry of Health, Dr Roshan Pokharel, on the other hand, expressed confidence that the vaccine would be supplied by the end of April.

Domestic demand for the vaccine is said to be high in India due to the second wave of COVID. Experts say that with the onset of the second wave in India, the risk has also increased in Nepal. In the last 24 hours, 90,000 more COVID cases have been reported in India. This is the number of infected people found on the same day.