As the country is dealing with an acute shortage of medical supplies including vaccines due to surging cases of coronavirus, one of the largest vaccine makers Serum Institute of India chief executive Adar Poonawalla informed that the shortage in vaccine supply would remain till July.
In absence of vaccines, the vaccination drive for the age group between 18-44 ages has been impacted in several states including Maharashtra and Delhi. The vaccination program was scheduled to begin on May 1.
The Financial Times report quoted Poonawalla saying the production of Covishield doses is expected to grow in July from 60-70 million vaccines a month to around 100 million."
He also stated that the authorities didn't preempt the second wave of coronavirus in January since the cases remained on the lower side. "Everybody really felt that India had started to turn the tide on the pandemic," said Poonawalla.
According to the report, the SII chief alleged that the vaccine manufacturer has been wrongfully maligned by politicians and critics over the vaccine shortages. He pointed out at the government for the problem saying it was responsible for policy. The company also attracted criticism for the pricing to the state government, following which the prices were lowered.
The vaccine maker is engaged in the production of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, and already supplied 90 percent of the vaccine doses that have been given to Indian residents so far.
Earlier in an interview with a media outlet, the businessman hinted that his move to London is also connected to business plans related to the expansion of vaccine manufacturing to countries outside India, which may include the likes of the UK.