Ambassadors and envoys from 100 countries would visit the Serum Institute on December 4 (Archive)
New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit India’s major vaccine centers in Pune and Hyderabad this weekend with coronavirus cases spiking in parts of the country and amid redoubled efforts to focus on an effective vaccine.
On Saturday, the prime minister will visit the Pune-based Serum Institute of India, which has partnered with global pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford for a COVID-19 vaccine.
An official in Pune confirmed the prime minister’s visit and said he would review the status of the vaccine, including its delivery, production and distribution mechanisms. “We received a confirmation about Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the Serum Institute of India on Saturday, but his minute-by-minute program has not yet been received,” Pune Division Commissioner Saurabh Rao told the Press Trust news agency. of India.
On the same day, PM Modi is expected to travel to Hyderabad and visit Bharat BioTech, which is working on Covaxin, presented as the first indigenous vaccine candidate from India. Cyberabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar told NDTV that the prime minister was expected at 3:40 p.m. and after a visit to the facilities between 4 and 5 p.m., he would fly at 5:40 p.m.
The BJP was reportedly interested in having Prime Minister Modi use the trip to campaign for municipal elections in Hyderabad, but sources said Saturday’s visit will not include any political activity.
Ambassadors and envoys from 100 countries are expected to visit the Serum Institute of India and Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Ltd in Pune next week.
After AstraZeneca reported that its vaccine was 90 percent effective under certain conditions, Serum Institute, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, said it planned to make a minimum of 100 million doses of Covishield available by January and hundreds of millions could be ready for the end. of the month of February.
Astra and Oxford recently said that their vaccine was 90% effective when given half a dose before a full-dose booster, and that two full doses were 62% effective. But questions arose after it emerged that the dose that showed the highest level of effectiveness was tested in a younger population and that the half dose was given to some people due to an error in the amount of vaccine placed in some vials.
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