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WHO chief thanks India for resuming export of Covid-19 vaccine

Our Bureau Mumbai | Updated on September 22, 2021

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation   -  REUTERS

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has said that vaccine exports would restart from October

World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday thanked India for its decision to resume Covid-19 vaccine shipments from October.

The WHO chief wrote on Twitter, “Thank you Health Minister @mansukhmandviya for announcing #India will resume crucial #COVID19 vaccine shipments to #COVAX in October. This is an important development in support of reaching the 40% vaccination target in all countries by the end of the year. #VaccinEquity.”

The much-awaited export of Covid-19 vaccines from India will restart in the fourth quarter, starting October, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said earlier this week.

India to restart Covid-19 vaccine exports from October

The development comes as several international agencies like GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, and the African Union urged India to resume exports, now that Covid-19 cases appeared to be stabilising in the country.

The Government had stopped exporting vaccines around March-April to meet the domestic requirement amid the rapid surge in daily infections during the second wave of the pandemic.

Mandaviya stated that the surplus supply of vaccines will be used to fulfil the country’s commitment to the world for the collective fight against the pandemic.

Engaged with India on Covid-19 vaccine certification: UK

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, as of September 22, 7 am, India had administered 82,65,15,754 total doses of the vaccine, including 61,43,90,226 first doses and 21,21,25,528 second doses.

Separately, Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s technical lead on Covid-19, said at a live social media interaction on Tuesday that the much more contagious Delta variant has now been reported in 185 countries, becoming dominant globally.

Kerkhove further clarified that less than one per cent each of the alpha, beta and gamma coronavirus sequences is present globally while Delta is dominant among the sequences shared globally.

Besides the four variants of concern, there are five other variants of interest, three of which — namely, Eta, Iota and Kappa — have been downgraded to variants under monitoring.

Published on September 22, 2021

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