The serum institute of India revealed on Monday that sufficient coronavirus vaccine won’t be available for everybody in the world till the end of 2024.
Dampening our hopes of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of this year, the chief executive of the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines, Adar Poonawalla told the Financial Times, “that Pharma firms were not ramping up production capacity swiftly to be able to innoculate the world population in less duration”
He had earlier predicted that the world would require at least 15 billion doses if the coronavirus shot is a two-dose vaccine-like which is given in the cases of measles or rotavirus.So,“It’s going to take four to five years until everyone gets the vaccine on this planet,” he quoted.
Partnering with five international pharmaceutical companies like AstraZeneca and Novavax the family-driven Serum Institute based in Pune has planned to develop a coronavirus vaccine and has assured to manufacture one billion doses, out of which 50% is pledged to be provided to India. It is also said that the firm may also have a tie-up with Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute to produce the Sputnik vaccine soon.
The production and distribution of vaccines is a very crucial part, Poonawala clarifies undertaking the view of the Serum Institute which is working on manufacturing shots for the majority of the developing world.
He also showed his doubts over the claims by the political leaders who have already committed to vaccines by the next month among the concerns of the huge pre-orders of the countries like the US and Europe which will result in developing countries being smacked to the bottom of the list.
Poonawala added, “I know the world wants to be optimistic on it . . . [but] I have not heard of anyone coming even close to that [level] right now,” and continued that commitment had outdone the capacity of other vaccine manufacturers.
The firm will also seek to produce Covid-19 vaccine doses that cost closed $3 for 68 countries under its deal with Novavax, for 92 countries as part of its agreement with AstraZeneca.
Poonawala had ordered 600m glass of vials in April along with other products to gear up for the mass production of the Covid-19 vaccine.
But he expressed his worries too over the distribution of it in a country like India has seen a rapid increase in the number of coronavirus cases.
Therefore he said, “The process would be difficult as there is an absence of a sophisticated cold chain system to transport the vaccine safely to its 1.4 billion people”