Foreign Minister To Go ‘Shopping’ For COVID Vaccines In US

New Delhi: Faced with a massive shortage of vaccines amidst the raging second wave of COVID-19, the government is planning to send Foreign Minister S Jaishankar to the US next week.

Jaishankar is expected to meet top officials and vaccine manufacturers in the US to firm up deals for supply of vaccines to India.

Earlier, US President Joe Biden had announced that the US will begin shipping 20 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines to needy countries by June-end, in addition to 60 million shots of AstraZeneca.

There is no clarity yet on the distribution details but India is likely to be one of the beneficiaries.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine, which is being manufactured and distributed in India as Covishield, has not yet been authorised for use in the US with several irregularities coming to the fore at the Baltimore plant, The Indian Express reported.