Less than a week after launching the world’s largest inoculation drive, India has shipped tens of thousands of free doses of Covid-19 vaccines to neighbouring countries in what is being widely described as vaccine diplomacy.
India’s drug regulator has given the green light to Covishield (the local name for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine developed in the UK) and Covaxin, locally-made by pharma company Bharat Biotech.
India is a vaccine powerhouse: it makes 60% of the world’s vaccines and is home to half a dozen major manufacturers.
