Oxford coronavirus vaccine — Covishield — production begins in India. All you need to know
Oxford-Astrazeneca joint collaboration vaccine is now a frontrunner in the race to find a shield immunity against COVID-19, the disease which has already infected over 15 million people worldwide. In a latest development, the vaccine is now being manufactured in the Pune based Serum Institute of India.
The promising initial trial results were published by Oxford a couple of days back. The vaccine is now believed to be in the third phase of human clinical trials.
Serum Institute of India has already begun manufacturing the vaccine for use in India. Suresh Jadhav, Executive Director of Serum Institute has said that the company intends on making 2-3 million doses by end of August, reports The Hindu.
The company is looking to manufacture vaccines in proportion to the commercial requirements of the phase-3 trials.
Earlier, Serum Institute of India CEO, Adar Poonawalla, has confirmed that the company would be manufacturing about a billion doses of the vaccine which will not only cater for India but also provide assistance to other low-income countries.
"Serum Institute of India has entered a manufacturing partnership with AstraZeneca to produce and supply 1 billion doses of the Covid-19 vaccine being developed by Oxford University. These vaccines will be for India and middle and low-income countries across the world (GAVI countries)," Adar Poonawalla told news agency PTI.
He has also confirmed that the price of the vaccine will be capped at Rs 1,000 per dose. This has been done to keep in mind that the vaccine will be needed by people of all sects and classes.
The vaccine is likely to hit the market early next year.
