‘Many more’ India-made Covid vaccines will be ready soon, Modi tells Davos


Jamie Prentis
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India expects many more Covid-19 vaccines produced in-country to be available to the world soon, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday.

Addressing the World Economic Forum's Davos 2021, he said India had saved many lives around the world by distributing vaccines it had made and building related infrastructure.

India makes about 60 per cent of the world's vaccines and has approved two Covid-19 vaccines so far – one developed in India called Covaxin and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine that was developed in the UK – but trials are under way to expand this number.

Despite having the second highest number of cases globally, India has distributed vaccines to countries including Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Mauritius and Sri Lanka.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine, branded in India as Covishield, is being produced at the Serum Institute of India.

“All at the WEF will be relieved to know that, while so far only two made-in-India Covid vaccines have been introduced to the world, in the near future many more such vaccines will be made available from India,” Mr Modi said.

“These vaccines will help us in assisting countries across the world faster and on a much bigger scale.”

There are about 173,000 active Covid-19 cases in India. It has reported 10.7 million infections and 153,847 deaths.

India launched the world’s largest vaccination drive on January 16 and is aiming to inoculate 300 million elderly people and those most at risk by July.

In 12 days the country has vaccinated more than 2.3 million of its health workers, Mr Modi said. However, surveys show that many Indians – potentially more than half – are hesitant about being vaccinated, and concerns have been raised that Covaxin was rushed through the approval process.

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The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.

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All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated

Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid

Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona

PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES

All times UAE ( 4 GMT)

Saturday
West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur (3.30pm)
Burnley v Huddersfield Town (7pm)
Everton v Bournemouth (7pm)
Manchester City v Crystal Palace (7pm)
Southampton v Manchester United (7pm)
Stoke City v Chelsea (7pm)
Swansea City v Watford (7pm)
Leicester City v Liverpool (8.30pm)

Sunday
Brighton and Hove Albion v Newcastle United (7pm)

Monday
Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion (11pm)

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Milos Raonic v Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm

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Primera Liga fixtures (all times UAE: 4 GMT)

Friday
Real Sociedad v Villarreal (10.15pm)
Real Betis v Celta Vigo (midnight)
Saturday
Alaves v Barcelona (8.15pm)
Levante v Deportivo La Coruna (10.15pm)
Girona v Malaga (10.15pm)
Las Palmas v Atletico Madrid (12.15am)
Sunday
Espanyol v Leganes (8.15pm)
Eibar v Athletic Bilbao (8.15pm)
Getafe v Sevilla (10.15pm)
Real Madrid v Valencia (10.15pm)

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