With India in the middle of a health crisis due to a rampant number of COVID-19 cases and deaths across the country, the government is in the process of granting foreign vaccine makers such as Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, and Pfizer protection against legal liability when distributing shots in India’s nationwide immunization campaign.
Recently, the Indian government invited all three of the aforementioned suppliers to distribute their vaccines in the country, despite no official deal being signed as of yet. This will enable the likes of Pfizer, who has so far refused to sell vaccines in countries where they have not obtained indemnity against legal action, to begin their vaccine rollout within India.
In addition to dropping their refusal to grant indemnity to any vaccine maker, India has also scrapped their requirement for all prospective vaccine makers to conduct local trials before sales may be conducted.
According to reports, India is currently negotiating prices for foreign vaccine shots in the range of $10-$12 per shot. Currently, the European Union paying 15.5 euros ($18.86) per dose for Pfizer’s vaccine, as developed by German BioNTech.
To date, India has administered 239 million vaccine doses, with the majority being a locally-produced version of the AstraZeneca shot.
