India's government will not buy Covid-19 shots from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, three government sources told Reuters, mainly because domestic output of more affordable and easier-to-store vaccines has jumped.

“Earlier, there was a shortage, there was a need,” said one of the sources, referring to India's appeal to the companies in April for vaccines when infections exploded and shots were in short supply.

“Their price will be high. Why should we take on their conditions?”

A second source said: “The government will not buy Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. They are free to have private tie-ups after necessary regulatory clearances. But sovereign indemnity is clearly something we can't give”.