Pfizer drops India vaccine application after regulator seeks local trial; Covid-19 total goes above 10.8 million


A policeman receives a dose of COVISHIELD, a Covid-19 vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute of India, at a vaccination centre in Ahmedabad. - Reuters

NEW DELHI, Feb 5 (Reuters): Pfizer Inc said on Friday it had withdrawn an application for emergency-use authorisation of its Covid-19 vaccine in India, after failing to meet the drug regulator's demand for a local safety and immunogenicity study.

The decision means the vaccine will not be available for sale in the world's two most populous countries, India and China, in the near future. Both countries are running their immunisation campaigns using other products.

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