MUMBAI/LONDON: Even as the UK became the first country to grant emergency approval to
Pfizer-BioNTech
’s
Covid-19
vaccine, the US firm said it is “committed’’ to engaging with the
Indian government
to “explore opportunities” to roll it out here. The
vaccine
will be a challenge for India as it requires
storage
at -70 degrees, experts say.
Pfizer spokeswoman Roma Nair told TOI: “We are committed to advance our dialogue with the Indian government. We are working with governments across the world to understand the infrastructure requirements of each country and we have logistical plans in place. We are confident the rollout can be managed in India.”
Coronavirus in India: Live updatesMany countries like the UK, the US and EU pre-ordered millions of doses of the vaccine using
advance purchase agreements
. While the US has pre-ordered 100 million doses, EU has pre-ordered 200 million with a further option of ordering another 100 million. The UK has pre-ordered 40 million.
India does not have a preorder agreement with Pfizer for its vaccine as yet.
The cost of getting a jab could reportedly be up to $40-50 (Rs 2,950 to 3,700), rendering it unaffordable for developing countries.
“Their whole production has been booked for 2021 by rich countries. India has not booked or created the infrastructure for ultra-cold storage and distribution of the vaccine. Hence, it looks unfeasible. The price is also beyond the Indian range of affordability,” ICMR former director general NK Ganguly said.
However, a Pfizer official said the company was in talks with Gavi to potentially provide doses to the facility to support the needs of beneficiary countries. “We have temperature-controlled shippers utilizing dry ice to maintain recommended storage conditions up to 10 days. The intent is to utilize Pfizer-strategic transportation partners to ship by air to major hubs within a country/region and by ground transport to dosing locations.”