NEW DELHI (REUTERS) – The Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s biggest vaccine-maker, on Friday (April 16) urged United States President Joe Biden to lift an embargo on US exports of raw materials that is hurting its production of Covid-19 shots.

“Respected @POTUS, if we are to truly unite in beating this virus, on behalf of the vaccine industry outside the US, I humbly request you to lift the embargo of raw material exports out of the US so that vaccine production can ramp up,” SII chief executive Adar Poonawalla said in a tweet.

SII is making the AstraZeneca shot for the world and will soon start producing the Novavax vaccine.

India breached 200,000 daily infections for the first time on Thursday, and the country is trying to inoculate more of its population using domestically produced shots.

Facing soaring cases and overflowing hospitals after lockdown restrictions were eased, it also abruptly changed the rules to allow it to fast-track vaccine imports, having earlier rebuffed foreign drugmakers such as Pfizer.

India will import Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine starting this month to cover as many as 125 million people.

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