Every Indian Will Get Vaccinated Against COVID By 2024: SII CEO Adar Poonawala

Picture courtesy India TV

New Delhi: Every Indian will get vaccinated, probably by 2024, said Serum Institute of India’s (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla. The Oxford COVID-19 vaccine will be priced at a maximum of Rs 1,000 for two necessary doses for the public, (depending on the final trial results and regulatory approvals), said Serum Institute of India’s CEO Adar Poonawalla. He also asserted that the vaccine will be available for healthcare workers and elderly people by around February 2021 and for the general public by April, news agencies IANS and PTI reported.

It will probably take two or three years for every Indian to get inoculated, not just because of the supply constraints but because you need the budget, the vaccine, logistics, infrastructure, and then, people should be willing to take the vaccine. So these are the factors that lead up to being able to vaccinate 80-90 per cent of the population. It will be 2024 for everybody, if willing to take a two-dose vaccine, to be vaccinated,” news agency PTI quoted him as saying at a media event.

The price

Poonawala said that the central government will be getting it at a far cheaper price at around US$ 3-4 because it will be buying in bulk and get access to the price that is similar to what COVAX has got.

“We are still pricing it far cheaper and more affordable than other vaccines we have in the market today,” Poonawalla was quoted as saying. He said the Oxford vaccine is affordable

Children

Children would have to wait a little longer for the vaccine till the safety data is out, but the good news is that COVID-19 is not so bad and serious for them, he clarified.

“Unlike measles pneumonia, which is deadly, this disease is seeming to be less of a nuisance for children but then, they can be carriers and can give the infection to others. We want to vaccinate the elderly people and others who are the most vulnerable first. Once we have enough safety data to go in on children, we can recommend it for children too,” he stated further.

Safety and storage

Poonawalla said the Oxford vaccine is safe and stored at a temperature of two to eight degrees Celsius, which is ideal for it to be stored in the cold storages of India. He said the SII plans to make about 10 crore doses per month from February.