MUMBAI (Reuters) - An Indian state looking to procure COVID-19 shots to combat a nationwide surge in infections on Sunday said that U.S. vaccine maker

Indian state unable to obtain COVID-19 shots directly from Moderna

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2021-05-23 15:10:57

MUMBAI (Reuters) - An Indian state looking to procure COVID-19 shots to combat a nationwide surge in infections on Sunday said that U.S. vaccine maker Moderna had declined to supply its shots and said it can only deal with the federal government.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened vaccinations to all adults from May 1 and allowed states to make their own arrangements to supplement stocks they received from the federal government. But India is facing a shortage of vaccines, with domestic production amounting to about 80 million doses a month.

The northern state of Punjab said that Moderna "refused" to send vaccines to the state government, citing a company policy that allows it to deal only with Modi's federal administration and not with state authorities or private parties.

Punjab, with a population of more than 27 million, has had to stop vaccination for some categories of eligible people because of non-availability of shots, having received only about 4.4 million doses from the federal government, the statement said.

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