India is in talks to buy 5 crore doses of Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech SE's Covid-19 vaccine, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Pfizer and the Centre did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comments. The drugmaker has not yet sought permission for use of its vaccine in India.
The country, which rolled out one of the world's largest vaccination drives earlier this year, has been relying heavily on Covishield, the AstraZeneca vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India and Covaxin, a home-grown shot produced by Bharat Biotech.
Authorities are also in an advanced stage of negotiations with Johnson & Johnson, which has a deal with India-based Biological E. Ltd, to manufacture as many as 60 crore doses, starting as soon as this month, the Journal reported.
Last week, the country approved J&J's one-shot vaccine for emergency use. It is the fifth jab to have been granted such approval after Covishield from AstraZeneca, Covaxin from Bharat Biotech, Sputnik V from Russia's Gamaleya Institute and the Covid-19 vaccine from Moderna.