India’s wait for Moderna could get longer

The government is reviewing legal provisions related to accepting vaccine donations from global suppliers, two people in the know told ET. This could potentially delay the arrival of Moderna’s mRNA vaccine in India.The US embassy spokesperson in New Delhi told ET that the delay is not from the US side. “India has determined that it needs further time to review legal provisions related to accepting vaccine donations. Once India works through its legal process, our donation will proceed expeditiously,” the US embassy spokesperson said. US vaccine maker Moderna is supplying vaccines in India through Cipla. 84184275Last week, India’s drug regulator granted permission to Cipla to import donated doses of Moderna from the US and the mRNA vaccines were expected to reach India as early as this week. However, there could be a delay due to issues related to indemnity, according to the people cited. The US vaccine makers, including Pfizer, have been insisting that the Indian government should indemnify them against lawsuits in case of adverse effects linked to their jab. “The discussions are ongoing regarding indemnity and the agreement is yet to be signed with the US suppliers,” a senior government official said. Moderna’s spokesperson said that they have no clarity on the indemnity issue. “These doses of Moderna’s vaccine are being provided by the US government. Accordingly, they would be in a better position to discuss the questions about terms and distributions than we would be as manufacturer”. An email sent to Cipla did not elicit any response. US President Joe Biden had announced earlier this year that the US will share 80 million doses from their own vaccine supply with countries around the world.“As part of that, before we can ship doses, each country must complete its own domestic set of operational, regulatory and legal processes that are specific to each country,” added the US embassy spokesperson. Meanwhile, the Moderna vaccines have reached neighbouring countries, notably Bangladesh and Pakistan.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/3AAT3fh