Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India (SII) held a meeting today via video conferencing. The objective was to establish a deal with SII for prioritising the supply of COVID-19 vaccination to Odisha once it receives clearance.
Recently, the Lancet medical journal published stats from the first human trial of the COVID-19 vaccine, developed by Oxford University in partnership with SII. The numbers from the first trial look promising.
Post the Phase 1 human trial, Poonawalla had stated that 50 percent of doses manufactured would be allocated to India.
He had also claimed that the government would purchase the vaccine, and distribute them free of cost under immunisation schemes.
Highlights of the topics discussed during today’s meeting:
-The Odisha government will be in touch with SII regarding the deal of prioritising the vaccine supply to the state.
-Patnaik expressed his appreciation for SII for partnering with Oxford University to develop the COVID-19 vaccine.
-The CM commended the foresight of SII in tying-up with multiple research institutions across the globe to develop a vaccine.
-Poonawalla, in return, appreciated Patnaik for getting in touch with SII personally and keeping track of the progress. He further stated, “In India, the next phase trial will start in mid-August, and the vaccine will be ready by October-November this year”.
-Poonawala assured that SII and Odisha government would remain in touch and lead the alliance once clearance is obtained.
In an encouraging remark, Poonawala stated, “If the experiments and results go as intended, SII would be able to generate a few million doses of the vaccine by November-December, and around 300-400 million doses by the first quarter of 2021 for bulk supply and usage”.