Centre issues Letter of Comfort to Bharat Biotech for 45 lakh doses of Covaxin

Out of the 45 lakh doses, the city-based vaccine maker will be supplying over eight lakh to some of the friendly countries such as Mauritius, Philippines and Myanmar, free of cost as good will gesture.

Bharat Biotech has secured a fresh Letter of Comfort from the Centre for another 45 lakh doses of its Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin, sources said.

A healthcare worker fills a syringe with a dose of Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine called COVAXIN, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination campaign at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) hospital in New Delhi, India, January 16, 2021. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi (REUTERS)

Out of the 45 lakh doses, the city-based vaccine maker will be supplying over eight lakh to some of the friendly countries such as Mauritius, Philippines and Myanmar, free of cost as good will gesture sources added.

"The company was given a fresh letter of comfort recently for supplying another 45 lakh doses of Covaxin. The doses will be dispatched as when the Ministry places orders with the company," sources told PTI.

After having received the government purchase order for 55lakh doses, Bharat Biotech shipped the first batch of vaccines (each vial containing 20 doses) to Gannavaram (Vijayawada), Guwahati, Patna, Delhi, Kurukshetra, Bangalore, Pune, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur, Chennai and Lucknow, it said.

Bharat Biotech said it has also donated 16.5 lakh doses to the Government of India. Sources further said the supplies from the company depend on the orders being placed by the government.