Serum Institute to Produce 300 Million Doses of AstraZeneca-Oxford's COVID-19 Vaccine by July 2021, Says CEO Adar Poonawalla
"We have 40-50 million doses of Covishield stockpiled. Once we get regulatory approvals in a few days, it'll be down to the Govt to decide how much they can take and how fast. We will be producing around 300 million doses by July 2021," said Adar Poonawalla, CEO Serum Institute of India.
New Delhi, December 28: Adar Poonawalla the CEO of Serum Institute if India (SII) which is manufacturing Covishield, the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford, on Monday said that his institute will produce 300 Million doses of the vaccine by July next year. Adding that the first few months of 2021 will experience a shortage of the vaccine which will ease off after other manufacturers start their supply. Adar Poonawalla Says Government Should Protect Vaccine Manufacturers From Lawsuits in Case of Adverse Reactions.
"We have 40-50 million doses of Covishield stockpiled. Once we get regulatory approvals in a few days, it'll be down to the Govt to decide how much they can take and how fast. We will be producing around 300 million doses by July 2021," said Adar Poonawalla, as reported by news agency ANI. Covishield Vaccine: Emergency Use Authorisation Request in Two Weeks, Govt Likely to Buy 300-400 Million Doses by July, Says Adar Poonawalla.
He added, "The first six months of 2021 will see a shortage globally. Nobody can help that. But we will see easing off by August-September 2021 as other vaccine manufactures also being able to supply." Last month in an interview to NDTV Poonawalla had said that SII intends to produce and supply 100 Million Covishield doses by January 2021.
SII will also contribute towards WHO's COVID-19 vaccine distribution programme called COVAX. Poonawalla said, "India is a part of 'COVAX'. We will keep giving 50% of everything we make to India & to COVAX at the same time. India has such a large population that we will probably end up giving the majority of those 50 million doses to India first."
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 28, 2020 06:11 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).