Pune: The Union government has decided to provide Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla with Y-category security across the country.
The Union Home Ministry issued the order after conducting a detailed threat assessment.
SII, the largest vaccine producer in India, has tied up with Oxford-AstraZeneca in manufacturing their vaccine here.
Poonawalla has been at the receiving end of criticism ever since Serum Institute announced it will make the Covishield vaccine available to states and private hospitals at a higher price of Rs 400 and Rd 600 per dose, respectively. They have been giving the vaccine to the Centre for Rs 150 a dose.
On Wednesday, Poonawalla announced the reduction of vaccine rate to Rs 300 per dose for states.
The move comes ahead of the third phase of the vaccination scheduled to begin from May 1. Pune’s Serum Institute of India, which is the largest vaccine producer in the country by the number of doses produced in a year, is one of the lynchpins in India’s expansion of the vaccination drive. Apart from SII’s Covishield, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin is the other vaccine to be made available in the private market.
