Canada Receives 5 Lakh Doses Of Covid-19 Vaccines From India, 15 Lakh More Doses To Be Supplied Soon

The first batch of around five lakh doses of Covidshield vaccine from Pune based Serum Institute of India arrived in Canada on Thursday (04 March).

"The first tranche of five lakh doses arrived this morning in Canada from Serum Institute of India with 15 lakh more doses to follow. We look forward to future collaboration," said Anita Anand, Canadian Minister of Public Services & Procurement.

Canada, which does not have domestic production, has been contracting for Covid-19 vaccines from India and elsewhere, reports LiveMint.

In February, Canadian Prime Minister (PM) Justin Trudeau had called PM Narendra Modi with a request for vaccines. Trudeau had said that if the world managed to conquer COVID-19, "it would be significant because of India's tremendous pharmaceutical capacity, and PM Modi's leadership in sharing this capacity with the world".

By the end of February, India has provided 67.5 lakh doses of coronavirus vaccines as grant assistance and 294.44 lakh doses on commercial basis to various countries.

India, one of the world's biggest drugmaker, has sent consignments of anti-coronavirus vaccine doses as gifts to countries such as Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Bahrain, Oman, Afghanistan, Barbados and Dominica.

Countries which received vaccines on a commercial basis include Brazil, Morocco, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Egypt, Algeria, South Africa, Kuwait and the UAE.