India pins hope on US lifting ban on export of vaccine raw materials

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India is hoping the United States lifts the ban on the export of vaccine raw materials being used by the Serum Institute of India (SII) to produce AstraZeneca shots, after the issue was discussed between External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.</p>
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Foreign Minister Jaishankar had tweeted after the speaking with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that he had discussed, among other things, "issues pertaining to our health cooperation."</p>
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The U.S. State Department, too, confirmed the two diplomats discussed COVID-19, but did not give details.</p>
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According to sources, the Joe Biden administration has told India that its request was being considered and would be acted upon "at the earliest."</p>
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The issue has assumed importance as the production of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine at the Serum Institute of India has slowed because the US is not allowing exports of the raw material required for making the doses. According to The Washington Post, the Biden administration imposed the export ban to ensure US pharma giant Pfizer had access to resources needed to scale up production of its vaccine.</p>
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Jaishankar confirmed on Monday that the government was trying to address the raw materials matter but that it was important for India to meet its export commitments too.</p>
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"I am pushing other countries, particularly some big countries, saying 'Look, please keep the raw materials flowing for the vaccines to be made in India'," he said, without naming any country.</p>
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"Can I … go around the world and tell people 'Guys keep your supply chain flowing towards me … but I am not going to give you the vaccine?'"</p>
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Washington has invoked the Defense Production Act to preserve vaccine raw materials for its own companies, but the Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's biggest vaccine maker, has said this went against the global goal of sharing vaccines equitably.</p>
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Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla had flagged the issue on Friday in an open letter to US President Joe Biden. Tagging the Twitter handle of the President of the United States, Poonawalla wrote, "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."</p>
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Pune-based SII produces the bulk of the vaccines in India, at around 65 to 70 million doses a month, and production has been hit as the US has imposed a ban on the raw materials.</p>
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The Covid-19 vaccine is not only being used in India but has also been exported to several other countries including the UK to help them fight the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.</p>
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Meanwhile, the Government has decided to ramp up the production of home-grown anti-Covid vaccine Covaxin by 10 times to 100 million doses a month by September as two public sector companies, one at Bulandhshahar in UP and another at Hyderabad, will also start manufacturing the vaccines.</p>
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The move for a bigger push to Covaxin, developed by Indian Council of Medical Research and Bharat Biotech, also comes at a time when the inoculation drive against the surging Covid-19 wave has been expanded to cover the entire adult population of the country. Covaxin is a 100 per cent Indian vaccine, which forms part of the Modi government’s Aatamnirbhar mission.</p>