Oxford Coronavirus Vaccine Could Be Ready By December: Adar Poonawalla

New Delhi: Two days after expressing “some preliminary good news” on the efficacy of Oxford vaccine candidate developed by the University of Oxford with AstraZeneca Plc, India’s Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla told NDTV on Wednesday that the first batch of 100 million doses should be available by the second or third quarter of 2021.

“If we don’t go for an emergency license, our trials should be over by December and then we can maybe launch it in India in January subject to the UK trial also being completed,” he was quoted as saying by the news channel.

According to a Bloomberg article, Oxford COVID vaccine “has produced a robust immune response in older adults and the elderly, those at highest risk of severe illness.”