India Approves Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine For Emergency Use

On Jun 30, 2021

India has authorised the emergency use of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine as it seeks to ramp up its vaccination drive in the wake of a record-breaking surge in infections and deaths.

A member of government advisory body NITI Aayog, Vinod K. Paul, said at a health ministry briefing that, “I am pleased to inform that an application received from Moderna through an Indian partner of theirs, Cipla, has been granted Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA).

“Our efforts to invite and to have other internationally developed vaccines, specifically Pfizer and J&J (Johnson & Johnson), also continue.

“The approval would pave the way for other foreign-made vaccines to be imported into India,” Paul added.

Moderna’s shot is the fourth to be approved by New Delhi after Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield and Covaxin, which was developed by Indian firm Bharat Biotech and Russia’s Sputnik V.

The government had been under pressure to speed up its flagging inoculation drive by allowing the import of foreign-made vaccines such as mRNA vaccines Pfizer and Moderna.

Nearly 327 million doses have been administered since the mass vaccination programme kicked off in mid-January.

Six percent of India’s adult population or 57 million people have received both doses of a two-shot regime.

India is the world’s second-most infected nation with more than 30 million cases and nearly 398,000 deaths.

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