India ‘Overwhelmed’ By Covid; UK Starts Unlocking
India’s covid surge may threaten global supplies of vaccines, and the nation also banned exports of the treatment drug remdesivir. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom is entering a broad unlocking phase after meeting its target for vaccinating the over-50s.
Reuters:
India, Overwhelmed By COVID Surge, Fast-Tracks Approval For Foreign Vaccines
India is to fast-track emergency approvals for COVID-19 vaccines that have been authorised by Western countries and Japan, paving the way for possible imports of Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Novavax and Moderna shots. The move, which will drop the need for companies to do small, local safety trials for their vaccines before seeking emergency approval, came following the world’s biggest surge in cases in the country this month. (Pal and Das, 4/13)
AP:
India Reels Amid Virus Surge, Affecting World Vaccine Supply
The Indian city of Pune is running out of ventilators as gasping coronavirus patients crowd its hospitals. Social media is full of people searching for beds, while relatives throng pharmacies looking for antiviral medicines that hospitals ran out of long ago. The surge, which can be seen across India, is particularly alarming because the country is a major vaccine producer and a critical supplier to the U.N.-backed COVAX initiative. That program aims to…
