Covid-19 vaccine : India prioritizes domestic demand and urges patience from foreign clients, including Morocco

The Serum Institute of India urgesd, Sunday, international customers «to be patient» for Covid-19 shots. «Dear countries and governments, as you await Covidshield supplies, I humbly request you to please be patient», CEO Adar Poonawalla tweeted.

He explained that the Serum Institute of India «has been directed to prioritize the huge needs of India and along with that balance the needs of the rest of the world». «We are trying our best», he added.

The decision means that foreign governments could face delays on their vaccine orders, CNBC reports.

Since the launch of the vaccination campaign in January, India has vaccinated more than 10.8 million people as of February 20, according to the government, which plans to increase the number of daily vaccinations in the coming months.

Morocco is concerned by this new announcement, which may affect its vaccination schedule. The country has ordered 22 million doses of the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, and manufactured by the SII. So far, the kingdom received just 6 million doses of said vaccine.

Morocco, where the vaccination campaign was launched at the end of January and which has already started the administration of the second doses, has also received 1 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine.