Pfizer seeks ‘emergency use authorization’ for Covid-19 vaccine in India – report

US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has submitted a request to clear the sale of its Covid-19 vaccine in India, a report says. The vaccine was previously authorized for use in the UK and Bahrain.

Pfizer India filed a request with the country’s drug regulator on Friday to allow the sale and distribution of its vaccine BNT162b2, the PTI news agency reported, citing official sources.

The vaccine, developed jointly by Pfizer and German firm BioNTech, was authorized in the UK and Bahrain earlier this week.

Pfizer’s vaccine must be stored at around minus 70 degrees Celsius (minus 94 Fahrenheit). According to reports, Indian officials were worried this could make the drug’s delivery to smaller towns and rural areas very difficult due to the lack of sufficient cooling facilities there. 

In a statement, provided to local media, Pfizer said it was committed to work with the Indian government to find ways for the vaccine to be available all across the country.

In September, Pfizer said it expected to produce 100 million vaccine doses this year, however, it had to then slash the plan to 50 million. “Scaling up the raw material supply chain took longer than expected,” a spokesperson for the company told Reuters. Fox Business quoted a source saying that production ran “late” because “some early batches of the raw materials failed to meet the standards,” and it took extra time to fix the problem.

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