India scraps local trials for COVID shots to fast-track imports as it battles second wave
Live MintIndia on Thursday scrapped local trials for "well-established" foreign coronavirus vaccines to fast-track imports as it battles a devastating second wave of the pandemic that has killed tens of thousands of people. India has been inoculating its people with the AstraZeneca vaccine produced locally at the Serum Institute, Covaxin made by local firm Bharat Biotech, and has begun rolling out Russia's Sputnik V. But supplies are far short of the millions of doses the world's second-most populous country needs. Last month, India pledged to fast-track approvals for foreign vaccines but its insistence on local trials was a key reason for stalled discussions with Pfizer. Desperate Indian states are launching global tenders or seeking expressions of interest from firms including Pfizer and Moderna, but vaccine makers said they would only talk with the federal government.