US supplies of AstraZeneca vaccine to India could take 'weeks'

The White House on Monday said that approximately 10 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines could be released to India after getting clearance from federal safety review.

New York:The US is "looking at options" to ship millions of AstraZeneca vaccines to India but that can happen only after it clears federal safety review, the White House said on Monday. This process could take a few "weeks".

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Approximately 10 million doses "could be released if and when FDA gets gives us concurrence, which could happen in the coming weeks", a senior Biden administration official told reporters at a briefing, where IANS was present.

As many as 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are expected to be available for export in the coming months. An estimated additional 50 million doses of this vaccine are in various stages of production in the US, the White House confirmed.

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The AstraZeneca vaccine has not yet been authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration.

IANS