New Delhi: The ongoing vaccination programme in the country will now accelerate further as the government is reportedly in talks with German company Pfizer to buy nearly 50 million doses of their COVID vaccine. According to the Wall Street Journal, the government is in talks with Pfizer Inc. (Pfizer Inc) and the German company BioNTech SE.
However, no official statement from the company or the government has surfaced so far on the purchase of vaccines from Pfizer. A Pfizer spokesperson revealed that the company is still in discussion with the Indian Government over the supply of vaccines. The spokesperson refused to divulge further details.
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Earlier, the pharmaceutical company had said that it would only negotiate directly with the Indian Government and the payment will have to be done by Pfizer India on behalf of the Government.
No side effects reported yet for Pfizer vaccine
Sources said Pfizer has also stipulated an agreement with the Government of India for compensation for the supply of vaccines to the country and has also sent documents. According to Pfizer, it has entered into indemnity agreements with 116 countries, including the United States. There have been no reported side effects of the Pfizer vaccine at the moment.
Vaccination crosses 52 crore mark in country
The Union Health Ministry said that the total doses of the COVID-19 vaccines given so far in the country have crossed the 52 crore mark. In the COVID vaccination drive, it took India 85 days to touch the 100 million doses- mark. The country then went on to cross the 20 crore mark in 45 days and reached 30 crores in 29 days. It took 24 days for India to reach the 40 crores mark ahead. By August 6, 50 crore people were vaccinated. On August 9, the total number of vaccinations crossed 51 crore.