Pfizer seeks emergency approval for COVID-19 vaccine in India, media say

Pfizer seeks emergency approval for COVID-19 vaccine in India, media say

Pfizer Inc has applied for emergency use authorisation of its coronavirus vaccine in India, media said on Sunday; the first to do so in a country with the world's second-highest number of infections.

The U.S. company, whose vaccine had the approval by the British government, has written to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI); CNN-News18 reported citing a government source.

Officials at the DCGI and the health ministry did not respond to requests for comment. A government official, however, told Reuters that there was no any application as of Saturday night.

Indian officials have said; they are pinning their hopes mainly on local vaccines instead of those developed by Pfizer and Moderna Inc.

The Pfizer shot also needs storage at minus 70 degrees Celsius (-94 F) or below, temperatures that most Indian cold storages cannot reach.

India has markedly reported more 9.57 million COVID-19 cases, behind only the United States, with nearly 140,000 deaths.

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