Covid-19 Vaccine Update: US VP Kamala Harris Calls PM Modi, US To Send 6 Million AstraZeneca Doses; Centre Makes New Vaccine Deal With Biological E; Serum Institute Applies To Produce Sputnik V

India will receive Covid-19 vaccines from the US as part of the first 25 million doses that country plans to supply under a larger framework, Vice President Kamala D Harris told Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 3 during a call. The United States on June 3 announced it will send 6 million of the first lot of 25 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to India, Mexico, Canada & South Korea, saying “it’s only the beginning”. The remaining 19 million doses will go to other countries through the World Health Organization-run Covax initiative for equitable global access to vaccines. India will also get vaccines from the tranche going through Covax, as 7 million doses are earmarked for distribution in Asia (India and 15 other countries and entities). The Biden-Harris administration's framework looks to share at least 80 million vaccines globally by the end of June. Later in the evening on Thursday, PM Modi tweeted, deeply appreciating the US's assurance and thanking Vice President Harris for the support and solidarity from the US government, businesses, and Indians living in the US. The government said on June 3 that it would make an advance payment of Rs 1,500 crore to Hyderabad-based manufacturer Biological E to reserve 30 crore doses of its under-development Covid-19 vaccine. Serum Institute of India (SII) has applied to the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) seeking permission to manufacture Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V in the country, reported PTI.