'Covid vaccine diplomacy has come at cost of inoculating domestic population': Omar Abdullah

SRINAGAR: National Conference Vice-President Omar Abdullah on Saturday said India's vaccine diplomacy has come at a cost as the anti-COVID shots supplied to other nations could have been put to good use domestically amidst a second spike of infections in the country.

Omar's remarks came after India told the United Nations General Assembly that the country has supplied more COVID-19 vaccines globally than it has vaccinated its own people.

"With the country seeing a second spike of COVID infections vaccine diplomacy has come at a cost. These vaccines could have been put to good use domestically," Omar wrote on Twitter.

India's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador K Nagaraj Naidu, said at the General Assembly's informal meeting on Friday that India has been at the forefront of the global fight against COVID-19.

India will not only be vaccinating 300 million of its own frontline workers over the next six months, but in the process has also supplied vaccines to over 70 nations, he said.

"In fact, as of today we have supplied more vaccines globally than have vaccinated our own people," Naidu said.