Serum Institute of India says signed deal for 11 mn doses; first covid vaccines could head to depots today

In Pune, SII officials said the consignments would be flown to the nearest airport and then driven to the depots. Some 60 locations, including in Maharashtra and Gujarat, and Chennai, are mentioned in the consignee list, the SII officials said.

Written by: Anuradha Mascarenhas, Prabha Raghavan

4 min readNew Delhi, PuneUpdated: Jan 12, 2021 08:12 AM IST

The convoy of Covid vaccine transport vehicles arriving at Serum Institute of India escorted by police on Monday. (Express photo by Arul Horizon)

The central government has signed a contract with Serum Institute of India (SII) for the supply of 11 million doses of Covishield, the Indian variant of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine against the novel coronavirus, the Pune-based firm said on Monday.

Doses of the vaccine could start shipping as early as Monday night, a source with direct knowledge of the development told The Indian Express.

“(SII) may start dispatching the vaccines very soon. It may happen either later tonight or early morning tomorrow,” the source told The Indian Express on Monday evening. The doses will be sent by multiple modes of transport, including by road and air, the source said.

In Pune, SII officials said the consignments would be flown to the nearest airport and then driven to the depots. Some 60 locations, including in Maharashtra and Gujarat, and Chennai, are mentioned in the consignee list, the SII officials said.

SII has manufactured the vaccine under licence in India. The country will start its mass inoculation programme against Covid-19 on January 16. Around 3 crore healthcare and frontline workers will be the first in line to receive the shot.

At least 70 lakh healthcare workers will be administered the vaccine over the next three months, NITI Aayog Member-Health and chair of the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC), Dr V K Paul, said.

Dr Cyrus Poonawalla, chairman of the Poonawalla Group of which SII is part, confirmed that a deal had been signed with the government. “We are expecting a bigger order next week,” he told The Indian Express on Monday evening.

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SII and Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech received the Drug Controller General of India’s approval on January 3 for “restricted” use of their Covid-19 vaccines in an “emergency” situation. Following the approvals, SII CEO Adar Poonawalla had announced that SII would offer the government a “special” price of Rs 200 per dose for the first 100 million doses of Covishield.

Asked whether the price still remained Rs 200, Dr Cyrus Poonawalla told The Indian Express on Monday, “Yes”. SII officials said this was the rate at which the government would buy the vaccines from SII.

The government is learnt to have also finalised a contract with Bharat Biotech for its Covaxin vaccine. No confirmation was, however, available from either Bharat Biotech chairman and managing director Dr Krishna Ella, or the union Health Ministry.

There was also no confirmation from the government on the size and nature of the deal with either SII or Bharat Biotech.

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Since the beginning of the pandemic, SII has manufactured and stockpiled around 40 million doses of Covishield “at risk”, while Bharat Biotech has made around 10 million doses of Covaxin.

While the Hyderabad firm also has an agreement to further develop and receive approval for Covaxin in the United States, SII has commitments to some low- and middle-income countries as well as the COVAX facility led by Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance.

SII had announced last year that it had received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to supply around 200 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines in the first half of 2021. This includes doses of both Covishield and another Covid-19 vaccine that it is manufacturing for US-based Novavax.

Dr Cyrus Poonawalla on Monday said SII had a huge stock of vaccines, and appealed for a simultaneous rollout for the private sector and the vulnerable group of elderly people.

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“Why should the private market and vulnerable groups, mainly elderly people, be deprived until the government starts distributing in their priority areas?” Dr Poonawalla said.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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