India tells overseas vaccine buyers it has to prioritise local needs

NEW DELHI: India, the world's biggest vaccine maker, said on Friday it would make domestic COVID-19 inoculations a priority as infections surge and had told international buyers of its decision.

Reports that India will delay deliveries of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine to a global programme to inoculate poorer countries triggered alarm on Thursday, with the head of Africa's disease control agency describing the continent as "helpless". India has exported 60.5 million doses, more than the number of inoculations conducted at home, and says there is no outright ban on exports.