India is in talks to buy 50 million 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 Indian health ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comments. The drugmaker has not yet sought permission for use of its vaccine in India.

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The country, which rolled out one of the world's largest vaccination drives earlier this year, has been relying heavily on the AstraZeneca vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India and 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 600 million doses, starting as soon as this month, the WSJ reported.

Last week, the country approved J&J's one-shot vaccine for emergency use, adding to the vaccines from AstraZeneca, Bharat Biotech, Russia's Gamaleya Institute and Moderna, that have been granted such approval.

(Reuters)

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