Serum Institute chief Adar Poonawalla on Tusday said his company has “never exported vaccines at the cost of the people of India”. Referring to India’s vaccination drive, Poonawalla, in a media statement, said that being the second most populous country in the world and the vaccination drive for such a large population cannot be completed within two or three months. He further added that it will take another two to three years for the entire world population to get fully vaccinated.
“People do not tend to realise that we are amongst the two most populous countries in the world. A vaccination drive for such a large population cannot be completed within 2-3 months, as there are several factors and challenges involved. It would take 2-3 years for the entire world population to get fully vaccinated,” he stated.
Poonawalla also explained the circumstances in which consignments of vaccines were exported abroad and the commitments made by the government in the initial stages of the pandemic last year. “Serum has delivered more than 200 million doses, even though we received EUA (Emergency Use Authorization) two months after the US pharma companies. If we look at total doses produced and delivered, we rank amongst the top three in the world. We continue to scale up manufacturing and priortise India. We also hope to start delvering to COVAX and other countries by the end of this year,” he said in the statement.
The statement further read, “We must understand that this pandemic is not limited by geographic or political boundaries. We will not be safe till everyone globally is able to defeat this virus at a global scale.”
In the statement, Poonawalla also explained the circumstances in which consignments of vaccines were sent abroad and the commitments made by the government in the initial stages of the pandemic last year. When the vaccines were launched in January, there was a stockpile in India. The Covid numbers were at an “all-time low” and the vaccination drive had started successfully, he said. At the same time, many other nations were in an “acute crisis” and in “desperate need of help”. The government, he said, extended whatever help was possible.
Pointing out that the pandemic will “not be limited by geographical or political boundaries,” he said “we will not be safe till everyone has been able to defeat the virus on a global scale”.
The Serum Institute chief’s statement came amid much Opposition criticism of the government over the vaccine shortage. Many states, including Delhi, have been unable to continue vaccination of all eligible age groups due to the shortage.