India stops vaccine exports in drive to innoculate locally
"Any country, over 20 countries, on the continent that has received the AstraZeneca vaccine is affected because they have no other way of getting the second doses," Ogwell adds.
The facility urgently needs 20 million doses by the end of June to cover the supply shortage and has pleaded with wealthy countries to donate excess doses. The Serum Institute in India paused exports in March.
"The urgent demand for vaccines in India is bad for the rest of the world,'' said Ravi Gupta, a professor of clinical microbiology at Cambridge University.
COVAX said on Monday it has struck a deal to buy 500 million doses of Moderna's COVID-19 jabs.