Johnson & Johnson has told Indian regulators that it will soon begin clinical trials of its single-shot Covid-19 vaccine in the country, the Indian Express newspaper reported.

The US drugs and healthcare giant has sent a letter to India's Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) saying it would “very shortly apply for permission to conduct clinical bridging trials in India,” according to the report.

The report comes as many vaccination centres in India grapple with a shortage of vaccine supplies as the country of 1.3 billion is battling a second wave of Covid-19 infections that has eclipsed the first.