“It will take four to five years for everyone on this planet to get the vaccine,” Poonawalla told the Financial Times.
The CEO of the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer has estimated that if the Covid-19 injection is a two-dose vaccine, like measles or rotavirus, the world will need 15 billion doses, FT reported.
The Pune-based pharmaceutical giant partnered with five international pharmaceutical firms, including AstraZeneca and Novavax, to develop a Covid-19 vaccine and committed to producing 1 billion doses, half of which were committed to India. Additionally, IBS may also partner with Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute to manufacture the Sputnik vaccine.
He said the commitment far exceeded the capacity of other vaccine producers. “I know the world wants to be optimistic about it. . .[but]I haven’t heard of anyone who comes close to that [level] right now, “he told FT.
Poonawalla’s comments come just a day after India’s Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said that while no date has been set for the availability of a potential Covid-19 vaccine, it is likely to be ready. for the first quarter of 2021.
He assured that the vaccine will first be made available to those who need it most, regardless of their ability to pay.
“Issues like vaccine safety, cost, fairness, cold chain requirements, production timelines, etc. have also been hotly debated,” he said.
On the availability of the vaccine and its authorization, Vardhan reported that the Center is considering the emergency authorization of COVID-19 vaccination, especially in the case of older people and people who work in high-risk environments. “This will be done after a consensus has been reached,” he said, according to an official statement.
To allay fears about the safety aspect of vaccines, he said: “I will be the first to offer myself to receive the COVID vaccine, if people have a confidence deficit.”
Additionally, the Financial Times also reported that as part of the SII’s agreement with AstraZeneca, the firm will aim to produce vaccine doses costing around $ 3 for 68 countries and under its agreement with Novavax, for 92 countries.
Last week, AstraZeneca PLC had stopped the trial of the coronavirus vaccine (recombinant) when a volunteer developed an unexplained illness. Clinical trials were also reported to have been suspended in other countries, including the US, UK, Brazil and South Africa.
Following the developments, India’s top drug regulator had asked the SII to suspend any new recruitment in phase two and three clinical trials for the COVID-9 vaccine until new orders are submitted.
The Serum Institute of India is the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, producing 1.5 billion doses of vaccines per year for use in more than 170 countries to protect against many infectious diseases, including polio, measles, and influenza.
Meanwhile, the global death toll from the coronavirus has risen to 929,000 with 29 million infections on Monday.
Due to the consequences of the pandemic, a global race for a vaccine is underway, with nine companies already in the final phase of phase 3 trials.
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