Adar Poonawalla from the Serum Institute of India
New Delhi:
A minimum of 100 million doses of Covishield, a coronavirus vaccine said this morning to be 90 percent effective, will be available in January and hundreds of millions could be ready by the end of February, Adar Poonawalla of the Serum Institute of India. he told NDTV on Monday night.
Poonawalla, whose company has an agreement with the government to mass-manufacture doses of the Covid vaccine, said that about 40 million doses had already been produced and that the center would purchase 90 percent of these doses for 250 rupees or less.
The rest will be sold between Rs 500-600 per dose for the private market, he added.
“It will be another two or three months for the vaccine to be available in India. By January we will have 100 million doses at least. The target set by the government is 300 to 400 million doses by July. We are putting an MRP of 1,000 Rupees – for the private market it will be around 500 or 600 rupees (+ 200 rupees for the distributor) and 250 rupees or less for the government, “Poonawalla said.
He also said that the 10 percent expected to be released to the private market is unlikely to be available before March, so vaccine distribution is the exclusive province of the government until then.
“Until then, the general public is not likely to get it easily. They will have to go to government distribution points and if they are eligible, they will get it. Otherwise they will have to wait until March … because the priority it is to vaccinate our most vulnerable, “Poonawalla said.
He also noted that the delay in the release to the private market is also due to the time required to complete the licensing procedures. All prices are per dose, he added, noting that the recommended course at this stage is two: half a dose followed by a full dose in a month.
Meanwhile, sources have said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to preside over a virtual interaction with the top ministers of the eight worst affected states. Among other things, the Prime Minister is expected to discuss the distribution of vaccines.
Last month, the Prime Minister called for “rapid access” of the vaccine to all members of the population and ordered officials to take into account the “geographic extent and diversity of the country” when planning logistics.
This morning, pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, which has developed the vaccine in conjunction with the University of Oxford, said it could be around 90 percent effective when given in two doses a month apart. This is based on data from trials in Great Britain and Brazil.
“This means we have a vaccine for the world,” said Andrew Pollard, director of the vaccine group at the University of Oxford that developed the drug.
More importantly, the Covishield vaccine turns out to be cheaper than the other two candidates who have published test data in recent days: Pfizer and Moderna. It can also be transported and stored at refrigerator temperature; Experts say this makes distribution easier, especially in poor countries.
With input from Reuters
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