Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) said on Monday it was still in talks with the Indian government over its COVID-19 vaccine after the country's drug regulator announced the company had pulled its proposal seeking an accelerated approval for local trials, Reuters reports.

India had, in May, scrapped local trials for "well-established" foreign coronavirus vaccines as it tried to hasten vaccination rollouts to fight a second wave of infections.

How best to accelerate our ability to deliver

We are in ongoing discussions with the Government of India and are exploring how best to accelerate our ability to deliver our COVID-19 vaccine to India," Johnson & Johnson said in an emailed statement.

The Indian junior health minister said last week that a team had been formed to engage with vaccine makers.

 
This team is in continuous dialogue with Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson to discuss and address various issues including the issue of indemnity," Bharati Pravin Pawar had said.

As of July 28, only 10% of India's adult population of about 944 million people had been inoculated with both doses, with 47% receiving at least one shot.

 
In India, the drug regulator had in June given emergency use authorisation to Moderna's vaccine.