India's vaccinations fall from peak, raw-material shortage hits output targets

NEW DELHI - India's daily COVID-19 vaccinations have slowed from their peak early this month while new infections have set a record, government data showed on Friday, as its main producer of shots urged the United States to end a ban on raw material exports.

After giving and selling tens of millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses abroad, India has suddenly found itself short of the drug. It has abruptly changed rules to allow it to fast-track vaccine imports, having earlier rebuffed foreign drugmakers like Pfizer. Vaccinations peaked at 4.5 million doses on April 5 but have averaged about 3 million a day since then, according to the government's Co-Win portal to coordinate immunisations.