Last checked at 
* Govt says to raise Covaxin output to 100 mln doses/month
by Sept
* Current Covaxin capacity stuck at 10 mln/month
* Vaccinations peaked at 4.5 million doses on April 5
* Inoculations have averaged about 3 million a day since
then
* Vaccine maker appeals to Biden to lift raw-material export
ban
(Adds govt statement on vaccine capacity)
By Krishna N. Das
NEW DELHI, April 16 (Reuters) - India pledged on Friday to
raise monthly production of its own COVID-19 vaccine about
tenfold to nearly 100 million doses by September, as
immunisations have slowed in the country despite a surge in new
infections.
After donating and selling tens of millions vaccine doses
abroad, India has suddenly found itself short of Covaxin, its
only domestically made shot. The government is now trying to
raise production at manufacturer Bharat Biotech, and fast-track
imports of other vaccines.
The ministry of science and technology, giving the September
target, pegged current capacity at 10 million doses a month.
"The current production capacity of indigenously developed
Covaxin vaccine will be doubled by May-June 2021 and then
increased nearly 6-7 fold by July-August," it said.
The ministry added that the government would provide $17
million in funding to boost Covaxin output. Apart from Bharat
Biotech, two state-sector firms - Haffkine Biopharmaceutical and
Indian Immunologicals Ltd - will develop a combined monthly
capacity of up to 35 million doses in the coming months, under
the plan.
India's daily vaccinations peaked at 4.5 million doses on
April 5, as its second wave of infections picked up, but have
averaged about 3 million a day since then, according to the
government's Co-Win portal that coordinates immunisations.
The AstraZeneca vaccine, made locally by the Serum
Institute of India (SII), accounts for more than 91% of the
115.5 million doses given in the country. But a production
ramp-up at SII, the world's biggest vaccine maker, has been
delayed by a raw-material shortage due to U.S. supply
restrictions.
ENOUGH FOR NINE DAYS
SII Chief Executive Adar Poonawalla appealed directly to
U.S. President Joe Biden to end the supply curb, which is aimed
at supporting American vaccine companies.
"Respected @POTUS, if we are to truly unite in beating this
virus, on behalf of the vaccine industry outside the U.S., I
humbly request you to lift the embargo of raw-material exports
out of the U.S. so that vaccine production can ramp up,"
Poonawalla said on Twitter.
India has reported the most number of COVID-19 cases in the
world this month. Its total of 14.3 million infections since the
pandemic began is the most after the United States. India has
also recorded 174,308 deaths.
Many vaccination centres in India are now rationing supplies
though they are only inoculating people above 45 years, having
started the campaign in mid-January with front-line workers.
India has administered the most doses in the world after the
United States and China, but it ranks much lower per capita.
The government said on Friday the country had a stock of
about 26.7 million doses of vaccines. Going by vaccination rates
in the past week, that will last about nine days.
India this week gave emergency authorisation to Russia's
Sputnik V vaccine and imports to cover as many as 125 million
people will start this month. The government has also urged
Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson and Johnson to sell
their shots to India.
(eporting by Krishna N. Das; additional reporting by Sankalp
Phartiyal and Nallur Sethuraman; Editing by Larry King and
Pravin Char)
