'I got two doses of Covishield from India', says 76th UNGA President Abdulla Shahid

In response to a query, the 76th session of the UN General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid said, he received the two doses of Covishield vaccine manufactured in India.

He also said that a “large portion” of other countries around the world have also been inoculated by Covishield.

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The leader was responding a question that whether any Covid vaccine should be recognised and considered or only the ones validated by the World Health Organisation or any other group.

At his first press conference on Friday, Shahid said, "On vaccines, that's a very technical question you have asked me. I got Covishield from India, I’ve got the two doses. I don't know how many countries would say that Covishield is acceptable or not, but a large portion of the countries have got Covishield.”

Developed by British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, the Covishield vaccine has been manufactured in India by Pune-based Serum Institute of India.

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“And I’ve survived. But let someone else, a medical person make that call, not me,” Shahid added.

Through grants, commercial shipments and the COVAX facility, India has exported over 66 million vaccine doses to nearly 100 countries. The home country of Shahid, Maldives was among the first nations to receive the India-made vaccines in January.

(With inputs from agencies)