Pfizer has told the government its Covid vaccine shows “high effectiveness” against the India-dominant variant of the virus experts believe is behind the devastating second wave of infections and deaths in the country, sources told news agency PTI Wednesday.
Pfizer also said the government its vaccine had been proven suitable for everyone over 12, and can be stored for a month in cold storage facilities with a temperature range of 2-8 degrees Celsius.
Pfizer, which is ready to offer 5 crore doses to India between July and October this year and has sought certain relaxations including indemnification, has held a series of interactions with the Indian government authorities recently including one this week, during which it shared the most recent data points regarding efficacy trials and approvals for its vaccine in various countries and by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
India is currently using mainly two ‘made-in India’ jabs – Covishield manufactured by the Serum Institute and Covaxin of Bharat Biotech – and Russian-made Sputnik V at a smaller scale to inoculate its population, all of which are approved only for those aged 18 years and above.
A shortage of vaccine doses is one of the primary reasons for the recent slowdown, with several states flagging low stocks and being forced to suspend vaccination for the 18-44 age group that government data says accounts for nearly 26 per cent of all new Covid cases this month.
