Serum Institute now has a hope of starting to deliver vaccines to the COVAX facility and other countries only by the year end.
On August 15, 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said three COVID-19 vaccines are in different stages of testing and that India is “ready with a plan for production” and has a roadmap ready to distribute the vaccines to “every Indian in the least amount of time”. The Indian regulatory agency granted restricted use approval to Covishield and Covaxin on January 2 and January 3, 2021, respectively.
On August 7, a week before Mr. Modi’s announcement, the Pune-based Serum Institute signed an agreement with GAVI and Gates Foundation to manufacture and deliver up to 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for low- and middle-income countries as early as the first half of 2021. The supply was meant to be made to the COVAX facility.
On September 29, 2020, Serum Institute pledged to manufacture and deliver an additional 100 million doses, bringing the…