Pfizer tells Centre its vaccine suitable for 12 years and above, ready to provide 50 crore doses

New Delhi: American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has informed the Central government that its COVID-19 vaccine is suitable for all aged 12 and above and can be stored at 2-8 degrees for over a month.

Pfizer officials and the government also discussed the indemnity protection against liabilities and asked for relaxation in some clauses before the company brings its COVID-19 vaccines to India, the sources said.

Ready to send 50 million vaccine doses to India

US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has said that is likely to supply 50 million COVID-19 vaccines to India in 2021, albeit with a few conditions. However, the US drugmaker has asked for relaxations in some clauses, including indemnification for its shots, sources informed.

Meanwhile, Moderna, another pharmaceutical giant in the US, sources said is expecting to start manufacturing its COVID-19 vaccines in India following analysis with Cipla, a pharmaceutical company based in Mumbai, among other Indian firms.

Earlier, both drugmakers had allegedly refused to send vaccines directly to the state governments of Delhi and Punjab, claiming that they will only deal with the Central government.

"We have spoken to Pfizer and Moderna for vaccines, and both the companies have refused to sell vaccines directly to us. They have said that they will deal with the Government of India alone," Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said on Monday.

India is moving towards vaccine sufficiency as inoculations with the Russian vaccine Sputnik V began in the country earlier this month. Sources said that India and Russia are planning to manufacture around 35-40 million doses every month that will start from August or September. 

Before the transfer of technology in August for local production, Russia will send close to 18 million Sputnik V doses to India - 3 million in May, 5 million in June and 10 million in July said sources.

.On May 24, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and Panacea Biotec, one of the leading pharmaceutical producers in India, had launched the production of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine.

Other sites of production of the Sputnik V vaccines are - Hetero Biologics, Virchow Biotech, Gland Pharma, Stelis Biopharma and Shilpa Medicare. India has also been using two vaccines - Covishield by the Serum Institute of India (SII) and Covaxin by the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech. 

According to the sources, India is expected to produce approximately 20-25 crore vaccines per month. Sources informed that two next-generation vaccines will also be made in India. 

One is the DNA vaccine by Cadila Zydus and the other is an mRNA vaccine by Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. Both vaccines have shown promise and are expected to reduce international dependence for the supply of doses.