COVID-19: 'Made in India' vaccines reach Denmark for UN Peacekeeping personnel

India on Sunday sent a consignment of COVID-19 vaccine doses to Denmark that will be administered to UN peacekeeping personnel. Indian Foreign Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar took to Twitter to inform about the delivery of “Made-in-India” vaccine doses to UN peacekeeping forces. India has delivered COVID-19 vaccine doses to several countries in the last few days, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, and the Maldives. 

India's Vaccine Maitri programme

India has delivered more than 600 million doses of vaccine to over 70 countries so far, 98 million doses in grant, 341 million commercially, and 178 million through WHO’s COVAX initiative. India has won global praise for its ‘Vaccine Maitri’ programme which aims to aid low- and middle-income countries amidst the global pandemic. 

So far, New Delhi has exported the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine and Bharat Biotech's indigenous vaccine, both of which are already in circulation in India with senior citizens receiving the jabs in the second phase of the immunization drive. India is currently witnessing the second wave of COVID-19 outbreak with infections surging again in various parts of the country. On Saturday, India registered its biggest rise in the number of daily cases since October 16. This has led to growing internal calls to put a ban on vaccine imports. 

India will likely be in a better position to export vaccination when other vaccines, which are mostly in their lap of approval, hit the market. India's Serum Institute on Saturday said that the Covovax vaccine, which is made in partnership with Novavax, is expected to be launched in September 2021.

(Image Credit: Dr. S. Jaishankar/Twitter/PTI/AP)