Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute of India, has warned that it will take at least four years to make enough Covid-19 vaccines for the entire world, according to an interview in the Financial Times.
These comments showed up a day after Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had asserted that there has been no date fixed on the availability of a potential Covid-19 vaccine, chances are it may be ready by the first quarter of 2021.
“It’s going to take four to five years until everyone gets the vaccine on this planet,” said Poonawalla to Financial Times.
The CEO of the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer has estimated that if the Covid-19 shot is a two-dose vaccine — such as measles or rotavirus — the world will need 15 billion doses, reported FT.
The Pune-based pharma giant has partnered with five international pharmaceutical firms, including AstraZeneca and Novavax, to develop a Covid-19 vaccine and committed to producing one billion doses, of which it has pledged half to India. Moreover, SII may also partner with Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute to manufacture the Sputnik vaccine.
He assured the vaccine will be first made available to those who need it the most, irrespective of their paying capacity.
“Issues like vaccine security, cost, equity, cold-chain requirements, production timelines, etc., are also being discussed intensely,” he stated.
On the availability of the vaccine and its authorization, Vardhan informed that the Centre is considering emergency authorization of COVID-19 vaccination especially in the case of senior citizens and people working in high-risk settings. “This shall be done after a consensus has been reached”, he said, according to an official statement.
To allay fears regarding the safety aspect of the vaccines, he said, “I shall be the first to offer myself for receiving COVID vaccine if people have a trust deficit.”
Furthermore, the Financial Times also reported that as part of SII’s agreement with AstraZeneca, the firm will aim to produce vaccine doses that cost around $3 for 68 countries and under its agreement with Novavax, for 92 countries.
