London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

India rolls out red carpet for foreign-made vaccines as infections surge

India rolls out red carpet for foreign-made vaccines as infections surge

The Indian government has said that foreign-made vaccines approved by the US, UK and Japan, and those listed by the World Health Organization, can be granted emergency use approval, in a policy U-turn that comes as India registered the highest surge in Covid-19 infections.

In a marked shift in its policy on regulatory approvals for foreign vaccine manufacturers, the Indian government fast-tracked approval for foreign vaccines, which can apply for emergency-use authorisation.

“It will also open up, eventually, doors for import of bulk or import of finished foreign vaccines in vials or import leading to fill and finish (of the vaccine) in the country,” Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan told the media.


"We invite...Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and others to be ready to come to India as early as possible," said VK Paul, chairman of the National Expert Committee on Vaccine Administration.

Soaring infections


The decision comes at a time when India recorded the world’s biggest surge in infections. In addition, severe vaccines shortages are being reported from various parts of the country with several states indicating that just over five days of vaccine stocks are currently remaining, while another week of supplies is in the pipeline.

On Wednesday, India reported a total of 184,372 new Covid-19 cases pushing the tally of cases to 13.8 million, according to health ministry data. With 1,027 deaths in the last 24 hours, the death toll increased to 172,085.

India has already passed Brazil's tally, making it the country with the second-highest number of infections in the world.

The western state of Maharashtra, the epicentre of the second wave, alone accounts for 50 percent of the total active caseload of the country.

Under the new norms, instead of conducting a local clinical trial before seeking an emergency use authorisation, vaccine makers can conduct a bridging trial parallel to the rollout post-authorisation, the government said.

“The first 100 beneficiaries of such foreign vaccines shall be assessed for seven days for safety outcomes before it is rolled out for further immunisation," the health ministry statement said.

“The plan is to increase the pace of vaccination with a bigger pool of vaccines because this second Covid wave is unprecedented and we need to be prepared,” virologist Jacob John told RFI.

Shortage of vaccines


A day prior to the announcement, Russia's Covid vaccine Sputnik V was cleared for emergency use by India's drug regulator, the Drugs Controller General of India.

Currently there are two approved vaccines – one developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca and made by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), and another developed by the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech.

The government reportedly failed to anticipate a higher demand for vaccinations when it opened up its first vaccination drive on January 16.

Officials also did not take into account the vaccines that the country had shipped out through its ambitious "Vaccine Maitri", or "vaccine friendship", initiative with other countries.


India has shipped more than 60 million doses to 76 nations, delivered either under the World Health Organization-backed Covax mechanism or as part of commercial deals.

Since the country started the world's largest vaccination programme, over 111 million people have received one dose of the vaccine so far.

With demand for vaccines suddenly spiking since 1 April due to the second surge in infections as well as the age threshold for vaccination being reduced to 45 plus, production capacity was unable to keep up.

Pfizer, which withdrew its application for importing its mRNA vaccine after the subject expert committee of India’s drug regulator rejected its request for a waiver for a local trial, is likely to be the biggest beneficiary of the relaxed rules in India.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
×