On Monday, September 20, the Union Health Ministry announced that India will resume the export of vaccines against coronavirus disease under the government’s ‘Vaccine Maitri’ initiative from October 2021.
According to reports, “India will be resuming the Indiexport of vaccines under Vaccine Maitri in order to fulfil the commitment of India towards COVAX, in line with our motto Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. The surplus supply of vaccines will be used to fulfil our commitment towards the world for the collective fight against Covid-19,” said Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya.
Meanwhile, COVAX is co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and WHO (World Health Organisation), and aims at equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, particularly focusing on the low and middle-income countries.
On the other hand, earlier on September 9, the health ministry released a four-month data of the national vaccination drive across India which stated that the effectiveness of the coronavirus vaccine in preventing mortality after the first dose stood at 96.6 per cent. This reiterates the fact that vaccines offer near-total protection against serious disease and death. Moreover, the real-time data of COVID-19 vaccination between April 18 and August 15, showed the vaccine effectiveness in preventing deaths further enhanced after the second dose – and stood at an impressive 97.5 per cent.
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