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BENGALURU, Feb 15 (Reuters) - India's Serum Institute will
ship COVID-19 vaccines to Canada within a month, its chief
executive said on Monday, in a sign a diplomatic row triggered
by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's comments on
political protests in India was easing.
Trudeau said the months-long protests by farmers on the
outskirts of Delhi were concerning, drawing a rebuke from the
Indian government which said it was an internal matter.
Last week, however, Trudeau spoke to Indian counterpart
Narendra Modi and they discussed the two countries' commitment
to democracy.
Modi also said India would do its best to supply COVID-19
vaccines sought by Canada.
On Monday Adar Poonawalla, the chief executive of Serum
Institute of India (SII) - the world's largest vaccine maker -
reaffirmed that commitment.
"As we await regulatory approvals from Canada, I assure you,
@SerumInstIndia will fly out #COVISHIELD to Canada in less than
a month; I'm on it!" Poonawalla said in a Tweet, using the brand
name under which Serum produces the shot developed by Oxford
University and AstraZeneca Plc.
India's SII has emerged as a key vaccine supplier amid the
pandemic. Canada, like many other countries, is relying on
foreign supplies because it is unable to produce the vaccine
locally.
Experts and officials say India has been trying to use its
vaccine dominance to shore up diplomatic support.
(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar in Bengaluru and Zeba Siddiqui
in New Delhi; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Sanjeev Miglani amd
Ed Osmond)
