Pfizer pushes India for ‘expedited’ vaccine approval

 Pfizer is pushing India’s government for an “expedited approval pathway” for its COVID-19 vaccine — and announced a donation of medicines worth more than $70 million amid a catastrophic surge in infections in the country. 

“Unfortunately, our vaccine is not registered in India although our application was submitted months ago,” CEO Albert Bourla wrote a letter to his colleagues in India, which he shared on LinkedIn Monday. “We are currently discussing with the Indian government an expedited approval pathway to make our Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine available for use in the country.”

He also said that Pfizer employees in the US, Europe and Asia are working to ship medications that India’s government has approved as part of its COVID treatment protocol. 

People line up to get the COVID-19 vaccine outside a school-turned-vaccination centre in New Delhi on May 3, 2021.

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“These medicines, valued at more than $70 million, will be made available immediately, and we will work closely with the government and our NGO partners to get them to where they are needed most,” he said. 

People waiting for their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in in Siliguri, India on May 3, 2021.

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The news comes as India recorded 368,147 new COVID-19 cases and 3,417 new deaths on Monday. 

A COVID-19 testing site in India, where a massive surge of infections has hit the country recently.

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Since the start of the pandemic, 19.9 million cases of the virus have been reported in India — behind only the US, which has counted more than 32.4 million. 

Workers load 300 tons of medical aid to be flown in a three-flight cargo aircraft convoy directly to destinations in India, at Qatar’s Hamad International Airport on May 3, 2021.

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More than 218,000 people in India have died of the virus, according to the health ministry.

However, experts believe both figures are significant undercounts. 

India recorded 368,147 new COVID-19 cases and 3,417 new deaths on May 3, 2021.

REUTERS/Amit Dave

Leaders of 13 opposition parties have urged India’s government to launch a free vaccination drive and make sure that all hospitals receive an uninterrupted flow of oxygen. 

A health worker gives a man the COVID-19 vaccine on May 3, 2021 in India.

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Several hospital authorities over the weekend sought court intervention over oxygen supplies in New Delhi, which has extended its lockdown by a week to contain the surge of infections. 

https://nypost.com/2021/05/03/pfizer-pushes-india-for-expedited-vaccine-approval/