Will India Agree To Send Covid-19 Vaccines To Pakistan, If Asked? Know What MEA Has To Say

The Indian government on Friday exported the first consignments of Covid-19 vaccines to Brazil and Morocco. According to the reports, two aircraft took off with two million doses each of Covishield, the AstraZeneca vaccine made by the Serum Institute of India. ALSO READ | Covid-19: People May Get To Sign Up For Vaccination On Aarogya Setu

Briefing about the development, external affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava in a press conference said contractual supplies to Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Bangladesh and Myanmar will follow in the coming days.

Answering if the government will supply the vaccines to Pakistan as well, the official said that India has not received any request from Pakistan for supply of Covid-19 vaccines. 

“I am not aware of any request for the supply of Indian-made vaccines on a [government-to-government] basis or commercial basis,” Anurag Srivastava said.  

The MEA official further said that many countries have shown interest in accessing vaccines from India, and that the country will continue to supply Covid-19 vaccines to partner countries over the coming weeks and months in a phased manner. 

ALSO READ | Who Should Not Take Covaxin Shot? Bharat Biotech Releases Fact-Sheet Amid Concerns Over Side-Effects

Meanwhile, India has crossed a significant landmark in its collective and resolute fight against the global pandemic. As on January 22, nearly 10.5 lakh (10,43,534) beneficiaries have received the vaccination under the countrywide Covid-19 vaccination exercise. In the last 24 hours, 2,37,050 people were vaccinated across 4,049 sessions. 18,167 sessions have been conducted so far.