No Choice Between Covishield & Covaxin, Says Union Health Secretary
Serum Institute of India (SII) will provide 50 to 60 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to the Indian government by February. Adar Poonawalla, Chief Executive Officer, Serum Institute confirmed that there are plans to provide all the 50 to 60 million vials to the government, either by January or February. It is to be noted that as of now, 11 million doses of Covishield are currently being rolled out.
Addressing the media persons at the SII facility, Adar Poonawalla said that taking the vaccine to common people, healthcare workers, and the vulnerable groups is the real challenge. He confirmed that trucks laden with Coveshield vaccines had left the SII facility early morning of January 12 for further distribution in the country. Also, SII has priced Covishield Rs. 200 especially for the Government of India. Poonawalla added that once SII is granted the desired permission, Covishield will be made available in the private market at Rs. 1,000.
Talking about the challenges, Poonawalla told that the Serum Institute’s production capacity is bigger than the world that is one of the main reasons behind the heightened pressure to manufacture.
As per Poonawalla, India has always been SII’s preference. SII will give novel coronavirus vaccine doses as per the demand in the nation. Rest of the vaccine doses will be exported as SII is also getting constant requests from Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Africa.
"It takes years to develop a vaccine. The PMO is getting a lot of requests from different countries regarding the supply of Covishield from SII. We are putting best efforts to keep all happy, but we have to prioritize our people and population”, added Adar Poonawalla.
It is to be noted that the drug regulator in India had recently granted EUA to Covishield.
You May Also Like To Read: Things to Know About a COVID-19 Vaccine
Disclaimer: This article is issued in the general public interest and meant for general information purposes only. Readers are advised not to rely on the contents of the article as conclusive in nature and should research further or consult an expert in this regard.
