Pfizer, Moderna turned us down, say Punjab & Delhi govts; Centre says booking full
The Centre on Monday said the order books of Pfizer and Moderna were already full and it was in touch with the companies for supply of Covid-19 vaccines even as Punjab and Delhi claimed that the two vaccine makers turned down their requests for jabs.
After Punjab, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said that Pfizer and Moderna refused to sell vaccines to the state directly, saying they dealt only with the central government.
At least eight States and three municipal corporations have either floated global tenders for vaccines or were planning to do so to ramp up vaccination as India battles the second wave of Covid-19.
“We have had talks with Pfizer and Moderna. They said they won't give us vaccines and will directly talk to the Centre. I appeal to the central government with folded hands to talk to these firms, import vaccines and distribute them among states,” Kejriwal said.
Earlier, a Punjab government official said both Pfizer and Moderna had said that they dealt directly with the federal governments across the world to supply vaccines for the national immunisation programme.
States such as Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, West Bengal had already floated global tenders for procuring vaccines or were planning to do so soon.
Besides states, big civic bodies such as Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Pune Municipal Corporation and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation too had decided to go global for sourcing vaccines.
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is learnt to have received bids from the manufacturers of Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine
The Central government said it had reached out to Pfizer and Moderna but their order books were full.
“Based on their surplus and how much they can provide to India, they will come back to the government… based on that we can facilitate the state governments,” Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary Health Ministry, told reporters.
Agarwal said the central government was coordinating with Pfizer and Moderna for facilitating regulatory approvals and procurement of vaccines in India.