Covid-19: Record 4,525 perish in India

NEW DELHI: India might not resume major exports of coronavirus vaccines until at least October as it diverts COVID-19 jabs for domestic use, three government sources said, Geo News reported.

India’s daily coronavirus cases rose by 267,174 on Wednesday, while record 4,525 new deaths were reported. India’s total coronavirus infections are now at 25.495 million, while total fatalities rose to 283,276.

This is a longer-than-expected delay set to worsen supply shortages from the global COVAX initiative. The Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's biggest vaccine maker producing the AstraZeneca vaccine, responded by saying that it hoped to restart deliveries to COVAX and other countries by the end of this year.

"We would like to reiterate that we have never exported vaccines at the cost of the people of India and remain committed to do everything we can in the support of the vaccination drive in the country," SII said in a statement.

Battling the world's biggest jump in coronavirus infections, India halted vaccine exports a month ago after donating or selling more than 66 million doses. The move has left countries including Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and many in Africa scrambling for alternate supplies.