(Adds response from vaccine alliance Gavi)
By Krishna N. Das
NEW DELHI, March 30 (Reuters) - India itself has received
more than a third of the nearly 28 million Indian-made
AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses delivered so far by
the global programme for poor countries, according to data from
UNICEF and vaccine alliance Gavi.
The revelation that the largest allocation of doses India
has supplied to the COVAX programme never actually left the
country could add to criticism of India and COVAX, after New
Delhi decided this month to delay big exports of vaccines that
poor countries around the world had been counting on.
Data on UNICEF's website shows that India had received 10
million doses of vaccine from COVAX, the most of any country.
Nigeria is second with about 4 million doses, though that is
more per capita than India.
Many poor nations entirely reliant on the programme have so
far received little or no vaccine.
Gavi, a network of countries, charities and companies that
co-leads COVAX with the World Health Organization, said India
was allocated the doses in January, when the country's drug
regulator had approved the vaccine for emergency use, more than
a month before the WHO did.
A Gavi spokeswoman told Reuters in an e-mail that supplying
India early prevented the doses otherwise being idle. India is
ultimately expected to receive about a fifth of the estimated
190 million to 250 million doses COVAX would distribute among
poorer countries free of cost, she said.
Hundreds of millions of AstraZeneca doses made under license
by the Serum Institute of India form the vast bulk of the
initial order for COVAX, the global system set up to vaccinate
people mainly in poor countries. Fifty million doses were meant
to be delivered in April, but much of that order is likely to be
delayed by India's new export restrictions.
COVAX aims to provide 2 billion vaccine doses this year. UN
children's agency UNICEF distributes the shots. But the
programme has so far gotten off to a slow start, with officials
complaining that rich countries have hoarded most early doses of
vaccines.
India, the world's biggest maker of vaccines, has reported
12 million COVID-19 cases, the most after the United States and
Brazil. So far it has exported 64 million vaccine doses, more
than the 60.4 million inoculations conducted at home. The
government is under pressure to step up the domestic vaccine
programme.
India's health ministry did not immediately respond to
requests for comment for this story.
The SII has an agreement with COVAX to supply its licensed
version of the AstraZeneca drug, which it sells as Covishield,
to 64 countries.
India's move to suspend major vaccine exports has alarmed
many countries, mainly in Africa and Asia. The head of the
Africa Centres for Disease Control, a continent-wide body, said
last week he felt "helpless".
(Reporting by Krishna N. Das
Additional reporting by Euan Rocha
Editing by Peter Graff)