GOVT LIKELY TO WAIVE INDEMNITY FOR FOREIGN COVID VACCINES

NEW DELHI: The government may grant indemnity from any legal proceedings to pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna, which have demanded this protection in line with agreed deals in other countries, to boost the coronavirus vaccine supply in India, government officials aware of the matter said on Wednesday, adding that the decision was not final.

The Indian government has been in talks with the firms to secure their messenger RNA vaccines, among the most effective shots against Covid-19, as it works to speed up the pace of its nationwide inoculation drive.

Vaccinations in India have fallen behind most of the developed countries, partly due to the scarcity of doses even though all adults are eligible to get the jab that is crucial to fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.

On Wednesday, Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) VG Somani said in a statement that the trials had been done away with for vaccines that had been approved in other major countries along with mandatory testing of every batch imported.

Last week, the government said it was scrapping the requirement of local trials for “well-established” foreign coronavirus vaccines as another attempt to accelerate its vaccination rollout.