Covax receives first doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured by SII: Adar Poonawalla

Pune-based Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, despatched its first batch of vaccine shots for the Covax global inoculation programme on Tuesday.

Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India, said on Wednesday, “Covax receives its first doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured by SII, ‘Covishield’. We are delighted to see the combined efforts of everyone result in saving the lives of millions. SII will continue to be at the forefront of fighting the pandemic with affordable and immunogenic vaccines.”

Covax, led by the World Health Organization and the GAVI alliance, has struck agreements with manufacturers for two billion doses and has the option for another billion. At a recent webinar, Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist at WHO, had said that the first shipments from India will go to 25-30 countries.

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