The COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech has received much attention, not least because it was the first vaccine approved by a country after large-scale clinical trials to combat the pandemic. The UK approved the Pfizer vaccine in early December. The UK's approval was followed shortly thereafter by the US FDA giving the green signal to the Pfizer vaccine.
Recently, an Israeli official said the Pfizer vaccine was also recorded as having a degree of efficacy against the Indian 'double mutant' variant of COVID-19. However, the Pfizer vaccine has not been approved for use in India yet.
On Thursday, a Pfizer spokesperson told The Indian Express that the company would supply its vaccine "only through government contracts based on agreements with respective government authorities and following regulatory authorisation or approval”.
"This may potentially mean that the American drug giant’s vaccine, developed with BioNTech, may not be available through private hospitals in the country—unless the Centre or state governments decide to sell doses to these facilities," The Indian Express noted.
“Pfizer remains committed to continuing our engagement with the Government towards making the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine available for use in the Government’s immunisation programme in the country,” The spokesperson told The Indian Express.
Pfizer was the first company to approach India's Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) for restricted use permission of its COVID-19 vaccine in December. However, Pfizer withdrew its application in February.
The comments by the Pfizer spokesperson come after India has made significant changes to its vaccination policy in the past two weeks. On April 13, the government announced it had fast-tracked the approval process for foreign vaccines that were cleared for use in other countries. On April 19, the government announced vaccinations would be opened for all of age 18 and above from May 1.