Sandeep Dikshit

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 25

The Foreign Office has sent a letter to diplomatic missions, asking for the names of diplomats and family members who would like to be “volunteers” in India’s ongoing inoculation drive.

It remains to be seen whether India will offer the “made-in-India” Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin or the British Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine being made by the Serum Institute of India. Sources felt the diplomats would opt on the basis of the vaccine approved in their home countries.

“The Government of India, as a gesture of goodwill and solidarity, is considering offering vaccination to eligible foreign diplomats and their family members accredited to all Diplomatic Missions, UN and its specialised agencies and other international organisations, based in India,” said the letter.