SII unable to supply vaccine, Maldives looks elsewhere

NEW DELHI: With the Maldives awaiting the second dose of Covishield vaccine for close to 1.1 lakh people, and Serum Institute of India (SII) unable to fulfil its commercial commitments, the government in Male has ordered AstraZeneca vaccines from abroad. Maldives health minister Ahmed Naseem also told TOI in an interaction Monday, though, that Male is not looking to sign any commercial agreement with China for vaccines.
China is donating ten lakh doses to Nepal this week and has signed a deal with Bangladesh for 1.5 crore doses. While Beijing has also donated its Sinopharm vaccine to the Maldives, the main requirement for India’s Indian Ocean neighbour remains Covishield or AstraZeneca vaccine. Nearly 2.3 lakh people in the Maldives, of the close to 3.1 lakh who have got the first dose, have been administered Covishield.
With SII unable to supply the remaining 1 lakh doses for which it had signed an agreement with Male, Naseem said the Maldives indeed was facing a problem.
Asked if India’s decision to effectively ban vaccine export had affected the local vaccination programme, Naseem said: “Yes, as some have already surpassed the 12th week after getting the first dose of Covishield vaccine.”
“We have vaccinated 2.3 lakh people with the first dose of Covishield, and 1.1 lakh are vaccinated with the second dose. Thus, there are 1.09 lakh people yet to get the second dose,” added Naseem.
“We have ordered the AstraZeneca vaccine. This vaccine can be given as second dose to those who received Covishield first dose,” he said. Naseem said China had donated 2 lakh doses of Sinopharm but added that Male was not looking at signing any commercial contract with Beijing for the vaccine. The problem for Maldives is that there are about 60,000 people for whom the extended 12-week gap between the two doses is about to elapse.