India’s drug regulator is set to approve a coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University for emergency use, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
The decision will pave the way for the vaccine’s rollout in the world’s second-most populous country which, after the United States, has the highest number of Covid-19 infections in the world.
More than 50 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine have already been stockpiled by its local manufacturer, Serum Institute of India (SII). One of the sources said the shots could start being transported from cold storage to Indian states as early as Saturday.
