Pfizer: On Thursday the pharma giant Pfizer said that it is committed to make the Covid-19 vaccine available to Indian population and is currently working closely with the Indian government to explore opportunities for the procurement and distribution of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against coronavirus. 

UK became the first country to approve emergency approval of the vaccine on Wednesday, which is set to roll out next week. It was approved by the UK’s regulatory body Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). 

A spokesperson representing Pfizer said in a statement, “Right now we are in discussions with many governments around the world and remain committed to engaging with the Government of India and explore opportunities to make this vaccine available for use in the country.” 

It is to be noted that during pandemic Pfizer will supply vaccine based on the government contracts. It added, “During this pandemic phase, Pfizer will supply this vaccine only through government contracts based on agreements with respective government authorities and following regulatory authorization or approval.”

NITI Aayog Member V.K. Paul had said in November that it can take months for the Pfizer vaccine to be made available in India. Mr. Paul also heads the National Task Force on Covid-19. He had said, “The arrangement of cold-chains for storing the vaccine developed by Pfizer at a low temperature of minus 70 degrees Celsius is a big challenge and it will not be easy for any nation. But then, if at all it has to be obtained, we are examining what we need to do…and will work out a strategy.”

Apart from the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, India’s hopes are heavily relied on the Oxford vaccine that is under human trials phase and will be manufactured by Pune based Serum Institute of India. The SIII has said that in two weeks it would be applying for the licensure of AstraZeneca-Oxford Covid-19 vaccine.