India has delivered more than 36 million doses of coronavirus vaccines to various countries, of which 6.75 million doses have been provided as grants, a State Department (MEA) spokesman said at a news conference on Thursday.
“To date, we have provided a total of 36,194,000 doses to various countries. This includes 6,750,000 doses provided under subsidy and 29,444,000 doses under various commercial contracts,” said Anurag Srivastava, MEA spokesman.
India is the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer and has pledged to donate millions of doses to neighboring countries. The country’s Serum Institute produces the vaccine developed in the UK by AstraZeneca for domestic use and export.
Vaccine deliveries to countries will continue in phases over the coming weeks and months, ensuring that domestic requirements for the national vaccination program are kept in mind, he added.
India has sent shipments of Covid-19 vaccine doses as gifts to countries such as Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Bahrain, Oman, Afghanistan, Barbados and Dominica.
India has also offered locally produced vaccines to all members of the diplomatic corps (foreign missions) and their families based in the country, Srivastava said.
“It has been offered not only to the diplomats of countries, but also to those of UN agencies and intergovernmental organizations working in India. This action will cover all locations where they are located,” he said.
Countries that have received the vaccines under commercial contracts include Brazil, Morocco, Myanmar, Egypt, Algeria, South Africa, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
The daily number of new cases in India has fallen sharply, from a peak of more than 90,000 infections in September to just over 10,000 a day in February. On February 9, the capital reported Delhi zero deaths from viruses for the first time in nearly nine months, according to COVID19INDIA, a website collecting Covid-19 data from official sources.