LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday that the delay in the delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine from the Serum Institute of India to Britain was due to technical issues and not to any intervention by the Indian government. .
“I want to thank the Serum Institute of India for its heroic role in producing huge amounts of vaccine,” Johnson told a news conference on Downing Street in response to a question about whether “vaccine nationalism” was at stake on the Indian side.
“There is a delay … because there is too often in vaccine distribution programs,” he said.
Pressed on whether the Indian government had stopped vaccine exports to Britain, Johnson said: “No, no, there is a delay as it always does, caused by various technical reasons, but we hope to continue to work closely with the Institute de Soro, and indeed with partners around the world, including on the European continent. “
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge and Estelle Shirbon; editing by Michael Holden)