20 crore Covishield doses to be supplied in September, SII informs Centre

The Serum Institute of India (SII) has communicated to the Union government it will supply around 20 crore doses in September of the vaccine against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) developed by Oxford University-Astrazeneca, which the Pune-based company is manufacturing as Covishield in India. This is double the number of doses which the SII earlier told the Centre will be delivered that month.

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“We have further enhanced the production capacity and will be able to supply approximately 20 crore doses of Covishield to the government and private hospitals,” Prakash Kumar Singh, SII’s director, government and regulatory affairs, wrote to the Union ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW), according to officials.

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In a production plan submitted to the central government in May, the SII put at 10 crore each, its production capacity for Covishield, for both August and September. This month, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer has supplied 12 crore doses of the vaccine to the Centre and private hospitals.

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Covishield and Covaxin are the two most widely-used vaccines in the ongoing nationwide incoulation drive against Covid-19, which began on January 16, just days after the two received Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI). The former is among four foreign-made shots to be granted EUA by the drugs regulator thus far, while the other two, including Covaxin, are indigenous jabs. Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech International Limited is the firm behind Covaxin.

Till now, 6,03,846,475 vaccines doses have been administered across the country, including 8,040,407 in the last 24 hours, according to the Union health ministry’s dashboard.

(With PTI inputs)