The pandemic which has created a mess across the globe continues its havoc claiming lakhs of life daily. The only hope to end the deadly virus is Vaccine. Many candidates are trying their luck to be the first one to introduce the anti dot while some have already reached the phase three trials . Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Serum Institute of India (SII) which is one of the leading firm involved in the vaccine production named as Covidshield.
The Covidshield vaccine is being jointly developed by SII and Oxford University, AstraZeneca.
According to a top official, the Government of India is initially aiming to get at least 300-400 million doses of these Covidshield vaccine by July.
Speaking on the progress of the vaccine, SII CEO Adar Poonawalla, said “Presently, we have nothing in writing from the government on how many doses it will by, but the indication is that the need would for around 300-400 million doses by July 21,”.
He further added that currently the institute is producing around 50-60 million doses which would be scaled up to 100 million by January 2021.
As per the information, during PM’s visit, the implementation plan for vaccine after getting emergency use approval was discussed. After getting approval, the Health Ministry will roll out the doses in the first and second quarter of 2021, subject to SII making its submissions and securing the necessary clearances.
