Vaccine deliveries will be delayed from Serum Institute of India and AstraZeneca

COVAX announces vaccine delivery delays from Serum Institute of India and AstraZeneca Deliveries of Covid-19 vaccines produced by the Serum Institute of India (SII) to countries participating in the COVAX program will be delayed during March and April, Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, announced in a news release on Thursday. By <a href="/profiles/julia-hollingsworth">Julia Hollingsworth</a> and <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/profiles/eliza-mackintosh" target="_blank">Eliza Mackintosh</a>, CNN CNN

Deliveries of Covid-19 vaccines produced by the Serum Institute of India (SII) to countries participating in the COVAX program will be delayed during March and April, Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, announced in a news release on Thursday.

COVAX is a global vaccine-sharing initiative aimed at reducing vaccine inequality with discounted or free doses for lower-income countries.

The news release cited the government of India’s battle with a new wave of Covid-19 infections as the reason for the delay. On Wednesday, India's Ministry of Health announced it had discovered a new "double mutant" variant of Covid-19, as the country struggles to contain a spike in cases that's raising fears of a second wave.

“COVAX and the Government of India remain in discussions to ensure some supplies are completed during March and April,” the release said.

Gavi said according to its agreement with SII it is “contracted to provide COVAX with the SII-licensed and manufactured AstraZeneca (AZ)-Oxford vaccine (known as COVISHIELD) to over 60 lower-income economies participating in the Gavi COVAX AMC (including India), alongside its commitments to the Government of India.” ...