Coronavirus vaccine

Does Govt Have Rs 80K Crore To Buy & Distribute COVID Vaccine In India, Asks Poonawalla

By
OB Bureau

Pune: Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla on Saturday raised some serious concerns regarding the production and distribution of COVID-19 vaccine in the country.

Poonawalla asked whether the Indian government will have Rs 80,000 crores over the next one year as that’s the money that will be required to ‘buy and distribute’ corona vaccine for everyone in the country.

Covishield, the vaccine candidate being developed by Oxford University in association with British pharma giant AstraZeneca, is in Phase 2 and Phase 3 human trials in India, with the tests being conducted by Pune-based SII.

In an interview to NDTV, Poonawalla had indicated that Covishield would cost around Rs 1000 and it could take two years to inoculate the entire population of country.

Bloomberg also had earlier observed that India had “no experience of, and infrastructure for, mass immunization across age groups.”

During his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured that whenever a vaccine is ready, the government has a ‘roadmap’ to ensure it reaches every Indian in the least amount of time.

SII, which is also testing other vaccine candidates, will be mass producing Covishield, if successful.

They will also manufacture US biotech firm Codagenix Inc’s potential vaccine CDX-005, whose human trials are expected to start at end of 2020.

The entire world is eagerly awaiting an effective vaccine for the deadly virus.

There are over 150 vaccine candidates being developed and tested all over the world, pf which 38 are in human trial stage.

OB Bureau

Recent Posts

New Artist To Play King Kansa Role During Dhanu Yatra In Odisha’s Bargarh

Bargarh: A new artist will be selected to play the mythological character King Kansa during…

November 22, 2024

Shah Rukh’s Daughter Suhana Khan Brutally Trolled For Vivo Ad [Watch]

Mumbai: Suhana Khan will be making her Bollywood debut with ‘King’ along with her superstar…

November 22, 2024

Badshah Comes Out In Support Of Diljit Dosanjh In Alcohol Controversy

New Delhi: After Diljit Dosanjh called out the double standards of Telangana government for banning…

November 22, 2024

World War 3 Has Begun, Says Ukraine’s Former Military Chief

New Delhi: Recent actions and counter-actions in the Russia-Ukraine conflict have pushed the world to the…

November 22, 2024

3 Arrested With Fake IPS Officers’ Uniforms, Identity Cards In Odisha’s Balangir

Balangir: Three persons were arrested and fake IPS officers’ uniforms along with fake identity cards…

November 22, 2024

‘I Want To Talk’: Twitterati Lauds Abhishek Bachchan, Say He Is Better Than Amitabh

Mumbai: Abhishek Bachchan’s highly-anticipated film ‘I Want To Talk’ released in theatres on Friday, and the…

November 22, 2024

Cash-For-Vote Row: BJP Leader’s Defamation Notice Against Rahul Gandhi, Kharge

New Delhi: Accused of giving cash to secure votes ahead of election day in Maharashtra,…

November 22, 2024

CM Mohan Majhi Attends ‘Odisha State Day’ Celebrations At IITF In Delhi

Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi attended the ‘Odisha State Day Celebrations’ at the 43rd…

November 22, 2024