Pfizer, Moderna declined to sell vaccines directly, they 'deal only with Centre': Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said that Pfizer and Moderna have declined to sell Covid vaccines directly to the city government, news agency ANI reported. Kejriwal said that both the American pharmaceutical firms informed that they deal only with the Government of India.

Delhi is among other states that have floated global tender to procure vaccines amid an acute shortage of doses in the country. The AAP government has set a target to inoculate two crore people of Delhi in the next three months, but several vaccination centres in the city have been closed due to the shortage of vaccines.

"Both the companies (Pfizer, Moderna) have refused to sell vaccines directly to us. They have said that they will deal with the Government of India alone," he said and urged the Centre to procure vaccines soon and distribute them among the states. "I appeal to the Centre to import vaccines and distribute to the states."

Covishield, Covaxin and Sputnik V are the three vaccines that the DGCI has approved for emergency use in the country. Covaxin is an indigenous vaccine being manufactured by Hyderabad-based biotechnology company, Bharat Biotech. Pune-based Serum Institute of India is manufacturing Covishield -- the local version of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Sputnik V has been approved to be imported from Russia by Dr Reddy's but is yet to be widely available in the country.