US Likely To Send 20 Million Doses Of Covid-19 Vaccine To India From Its AstraZeneca Order: Report

In a major boost for India's ongoing nationwide vaccination drive against the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States (US) is said to have decided to send 20 million AstraZeneca vaccines from its stocks to India, even though the timeline for the same is yet to be specified, reports Economic Times.

It is believed that the US has a stockpile of 10 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, while 50 million doses of the vaccine are to be manufactured over the next two months. The vaccine is currently being manufactured in India by Pune based Serum Institute and sold under the brand name Covishield.

In addition to the vaccines, the US will also be diverting sufficient supplies of multipore filters which would help facilitate the production of as many as 18 million more doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in India itself.

Furthermore, the first tranche of 20,000 doses of Remdesivir is also expected to reach India from the US. The US is also likely to send across 17 oxygen generator plants.

It should be noted that India has been receiving support from a host of nations like Russia, Singapore, Bahrain, Kuwait, Ireland and many more to help bolster its capabilities and capacities to cope with the pandemic.