Amid Criticism, India Reminds UN It Has Exported More COVID Vaccines Than Given To Own People

India has supplied more COVID-19 vaccines globally than vaccinated its own people, the country has told the UN General Assembly.

India has been at the forefront of the global fight against COVID-19. Naidu told the General Assembly that India will not only be vaccinating 300 million of its own frontline workers over the next six months but in the process has also supplied vaccines to over 70 nations.

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Supplied more than vaccinated own people

"In fact, as of today we have supplied more vaccines globally than have vaccinated our own people," India's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador K. Nagaraj Naidu said.

Naidu was speaking at an informal Assembly session on the "Political Declaration on Equitable Global Access to Covid-19 Vaccines" that adopted by over 180 of the UN's 193 members.

Naidu said at the General Assembly informal meeting on Friday that while the Covid-19 pandemic continues to persist, the year 2021 began on a positive note with the global scientific community coming up with multiple vaccines to contain the pandemic.

AP

He however cautioned that vaccine inequity will defeat the collective global resolve to contain the coronavirus as the disparity in the accessibility of vaccines will affect the poorest nations the most.

Long road ahead

"While the vaccine challenge has been resolved, we are now confronted with ensuring the availability, accessibility, affordability, and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines. Lack of global cooperation and disparity in the accessibility of vaccines will affect the poorest nations the most," Naidu said.

India was one of the initiators of the 'Political Declaration on Equitable Global Access to Covid-19 Vaccines' that garnered the support of more than 180 UN member states.

Reuters

2 lakh doses of COVID vaccine to be gifted to UN Peacekeepers

He also said that 200,000 doses of vaccine that India is gifting to UN Peacekeepers will be arriving in Denmark on Saturday.

There are about 82,000 UN peacekeepers and the 200,000 doses of Covishield would be more than enough to vaccinate all of them.

The comments come at a time when the country is facing criticism from some corners for restricting the export of COVID-19 vaccines to make more doses available domestically.

AP

While more vaccines in the domestic market is good news for Indians, the reports of export restrictions are causing some panic around the world.

That is because India is one of the biggest vaccine suppliers to the world and any curbs on exports can have global implications.

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and its partners said that the Serum Institute of India, will face increasing domestic demands as coronavirus infections surge.