Serum Institute promises 11 crore Covid-19 vaccines to states, private hospitals

Vaccine maker Serum Institute of India (SII) on Monday committed to supplying 11 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses to state governments and private hospitals in the next couple of months. This is in addition to the 11 crore doses to be supplied to the Government of India.

SII CEO Adar Poonawalla said the company has received orders for 26 crore doses in all, of which it has supplied more than 15 crore. Poonawalla said SII has received a 100% advance of Rs 1,732.5 crore from the government for the next tranche of 11 crore doses to be supplied in the next few months.

He had last week spoken of expanding vaccine manufacturing facility overseas and an extended stay in London because of the intense pressure on him and his company to supply vaccines.

Poonawalla said it is not possible to ramp up production overnight and as India has a huge population, it is not an easy task to produce enough doses for everyone. Even the most advanced countries and companies are struggling with relatively smaller populations, he said. Everyone wants the vaccine to be available in the quickest possible time and SII is making every effort to achieve it, Poonawalla said.