Children in India may have to wait a bit longer to receive their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine when it becomes available in the country, as the deadly viral infection is less bothersome for them, the Serum Institute of India said, with headquarters in Pune. CEO and owner Adar Poonawalla indicated at the 2020 Hindustan Times Leadership Summit on Thursday.
“However, they can still be carriers of the contagion and can be the last to get vaccinated. It may take more than 4 months for the vaccine to be available to children, as they are the least vulnerable, ”Poonawalla said.
SEE | ‘Covid vaccine launch likely in 3-4 months’: Adar Poonawalla at # HTLS2020
The CEO of the Serum Institute of India participated in the 18th edition of the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in a conversation with HT Health Editor Sanchita Sharma. The opening session also saw Dr. Randeep Guleria, Director, AIIMS and Dr. Ashish K Jha, Dean of the School of Public Health at Brown University, discussing the Covid-19 health crisis and how it had affected the entire world. . Dr Guleria, who has been at the forefront of India’s battle against the Covid-19 pandemic since the outbreak in March 2020, also warned the population to be more cautious now than ever as a suitable vaccine for the disease viral was just around the corner. .
Look | Adar Poonawalla from IBS on Covid Vaccine, Pricing and Launch at # HTLS2020
Poonawalla has invested nearly $ 250 million to make a vaccine for Covid-19. “I had no other moral option … I felt it was almost my responsibility. If I hadn’t received a call then, we would have wasted 6 months. I took the call to commit to making a vaccine and it worked for us. There was a lot of stress, but everything has worked … now we are on automatic pilot waiting for the results to come in and then we can start producing the vaccines, “said Poonawalla.
He explained that as soon as the UK authorities approved the vaccine for emergency use and other regulatory approvals were in place, the Serum Institute of India would begin rolling out the vaccines for frontline healthcare workers and the elderly, who were those most vulnerable to infection.
SII, which is the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, has signed an agreement with the vaccine’s co-developer, the British company AstraZeneca, to manufacture around 1 billion doses of the vaccine and to distribute and sell it in India and other low-income countries. countries.
The theme for this year’s Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2020, which takes place virtually, is ‘Defining a New Era’ as the world learns to live and deal with Coronavirus infection and takes small steps to control the pandemic.
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