India will be our priority in distributing the coronavirus vaccine, Adar Poonawalla, executive director of the Serum Institute of India, said on Saturday. The world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by volume has teamed up with British-Swedish company AstraZeneca to produce the COVID-19 vaccine for the University of Oxford for low- and middle-income countries.
“The COVID-19 vaccine will initially be distributed in India, then we will look at COVAX countries that are mainly in Africa. Our priority is the countries of India and COVAX,” Poonawalla said during a virtual press conference on Saturday.
“The UK and European markets are being served by AstraZeneca and Oxford,” he added.
Serum Institute of India is in active discussions with the Indian government about the price and distribution of potential COVID-19 vaccines, Poonawalla said.
The Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine is safe and effective, and Indian trials are progressing smoothly with strict adherence to all protocols, Poonawalla reiterated.
Earlier this week, AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford acknowledged a manufacturing error that is raising questions about the preliminary results of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine.
Indian trials are running smoothly with strict adherence to all necessary processes and protocols. So far, there are no concerns, he mentioned. The vaccine manufacturer may conduct another trial later to test the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine for those under the age of 18.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Pune on Saturday to review the development and manufacturing process of coronavirus vaccines at facilities in these cities. He visited the Zydus Biotech Park in Ahmedabad, Bharat Biotech in Hyderabad and the Serum Institute of India in Pune.
Modi interacted with the Poonawalla, scientists, and other executives, who briefed him on the progress of the vaccine. “PM is extremely knowledgeable now about vaccines and vaccine production. We were surprised by what he already knew. There was very little to explain to him except to go into detail about different variable vaccines and the challenges they may face in the future,” Poonawalla said.
Poonawalla said: “All over the world, now everyone is dependent and looking forward to vaccines coming out in large volumes and at an affordable price from India, as everyone already knows that more than 50 to 60 percent of all vaccines are made in India. “
With Aatmanirbhar Bharat’s vision in mind, Serum Institute has built Pune’s largest pandemic-level facility on its sister campus in Manjri and that was also shown to the Prime Minister, he added.
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