India’s Ministry of Health said on Tuesday that it is departing from its “Made in India” COVID-19 vaccine strategy and will accept foreign-made vaccines as the country battles an unprecedented wave of infections.
The announcement opens the door for COVID-19 vaccines—approved by the World Health Organization or regulators in the U.S., Europe, the U.K., or Japan—to be sold in India on an emergency basis, the Ministry of Health said.
“This decision will facilitate quicker access to such foreign vaccines by India,” the Ministry of Health said in a statement. The new policy will also boost India’s COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing capabilities by increasing the country’s “fill and finish” vaccine capacity and opening the door to more imports of “bulk drug material,” the statement said.
The decision comes as India is battling its largest wave of infections since the beginning of the pandemic. Last week, India recorded over 100,000 cases in a single day for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. Cases have continued to rise. On Monday, India confirmed 168,000 infections, a daily record.
India has instituted lockdowns in hard-hit areas such as Mumbai to help limit the new wave. It also has attempted to boost its fledgling vaccine campaign using two “Made in India” vaccines. One vaccine was originally developed by British firm AstraZeneca, but is manufactured and sold locally via the Serum Institute of India. Indian pharmaceutical firm, Bharat Biotech developed the other COVID-19 vaccine approved in the Indian market.
The two vaccines, however, are failing to meet the demands of India’s 1.4 billion citizens.
As of Monday, one-third of the country’s states were reporting severe vaccine shortages, and vaccine clinics have been forced to turn away people who had signed up for shots.
India has also fallen behind other major economies in delivering the shots.
In total, India has administered 108 million vaccine shots, which amounts to roughly 6.9% of the population receiving at least one jab. The U.S., by contrast, has administered 190 million shots to its 328 million citizens, enough for 36.4% of the population to be injected with at least one shot.
Opening the door to foreign-made vaccines may help alleviate some of India’s vaccine supply woes and at least one vaccine maker appears ready to supply India.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund, which backs the Sputnik V vaccine, said on Monday that it may begin exporting doses to India by late April.
Also on Monday, India approved Russia’s state-backed Sputnik V vaccine for emergency distribution. In the announcement, India’s government said it would now consider adding up to 100 other foreign-made vaccines to further bolster supply.
Vaccine makers will be asked to conduct a seven-day safety trial on Indian soil before any rollout to the public, according to the Ministry of Health.