Nepal, Bangladesh scramble to secure COVID-19 shots as India curbs exports

Nepal and Bangladesh are making frantic diplomatic efforts to secure COVID-19 vaccines to prop up their faltering inoculation drives as their stocks run out and supply prospects have become clouded by a prolonged Indian curb on vaccine exports. Reuters reported on Tuesday that India was unlikely to resume major exports of COVID-19 vaccines until October at the earliest as it diverts shots for domestic use, a longer-than-expected delay set to worsen a shortage of supplies coming through the COVAX global vaccine sharing scheme. Bangladesh said it urgently needed 1.6 million doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine to provide second doses and it had approached several countries for help, including the United States and Canada.