The central government has signed a contract with the Serum Institute of India (SII) to supply 11 million doses of Covishield, the Indian variant of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine against the novel coronavirus, the Pune-based firm said on Monday.
Doses of the vaccine could begin shipping Monday night, said a source with direct knowledge of the development. The Indian Express.
“(IBS) can start shipping vaccines very soon. It can happen tonight or early tomorrow, ”said the source. The Indian Express Monday night The doses will be shipped by multiple modes of transportation, including road and air, the source said.
In Pune, SII officials said shipments would be flown to the nearest airport and then taken to warehouses. Some 60 locations, including Maharashtra and Gujarat, and Chennai, are mentioned in the recipient list, SII officials said.
IBS has manufactured the vaccine under license in India. The country will begin its massive inoculation program against Covid-19 on January 16. About 3 million million healthcare and frontline workers will be the first to receive the vaccine.
At least 70 lakh healthcare workers will receive the vaccine over the next three months, said Dr. VK Paul and chair of the National Group of Experts on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC), NITI Aayog Member-Health.
Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla, president of the Poonawalla Group of which the SII is a part, confirmed that an agreement had been signed with the government. “We expect a larger order next week,” he said. The Indian Express Monday night
Bharat Biotech, based in SII and Hyderabad, received approval from the Comptroller General of Medicines of India on January 3 for the “restricted” use of its Covid-19 vaccines in an “emergency” situation. Following the approvals, SII CEO Adar Poonawalla had announced that SII would offer the government a “special” price of Rs 200 per dose for the first 100 million doses of Covishield.
When asked if the price was still 200 rupees, Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla said The Indian Express On monday yes”. SII officials said this was the rate at which the government would buy vaccines from SII.
The government is known to have also finalized a contract with Bharat Biotech for its Covaxin vaccine. However, there was no confirmation from the president and managing director of Bharat Biotech, Dr. Krishna Ella, or the union’s Ministry of Health.
There was also no confirmation from the government on the size and nature of the deal with SII or Bharat Biotech.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, IBS has manufactured and stored around 40 million doses of Covishield “at risk”, while Bharat Biotech has produced around 10 million doses of Covaxin.
While the Hyderabad firm also has an agreement to develop and receive approval for Covaxin in the United States, SII has commitments to some low- and middle-income countries, as well as the Gavi-led COVAX facility, The Vaccine Alliance.
IBS had announced last year that it had received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to supply around 200 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines in the first half of 2021. This includes doses of both Covishield and another Covid vaccine. 19 which is manufacturing for Novavax, based in the USA.
Dr Cyrus Poonawalla said Monday that IBS had a large stock of vaccines and called for a simultaneous rollout for the private sector and the vulnerable group of older people.
“Why should the private market and vulnerable groups, mainly the elderly, be deprived until the government starts distributing in their priority areas?” Dr. Poonawalla said.
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