'Won’t be enough Covid vaccines for everyone till 2024': Serum Institute's Adar Poonawalla

As India battles COVID-19 with more than 90,000 new cases being reported daily, ar Poonawalla, Chief Executive of Serum Institute of India (SII), has diminished hopes of an early COVID-19 vaccine for everyone. On Monday, CEO and owner of world's largest vaccine manufacturing firm warned that re won’t be eugh vaccines against coronavirus for everyone in world till end of 2024.

'It's going to take four to five years'

In an interview with  Financial Times, Poonawalla said that pharmaceutical companies were t increasing production capacity quickly eugh to vaccinate global population in less time. “It’s going to take four to five years until everyone gets vaccine on this planet," he said. Poonawalla h earlier predicted that if Coronavirus shot is a two-dose vaccine, as is case with measles or rotavirus, n world would require 15 billion doses.

Pune-based pharma firm has partnered with five international pharmaceutical firms, including AstraZeneca and vavax, to develop a COVID-19 vaccine and committed to producing one billion doses, of which it has pledged half to India, according to media reports.  newspaper reported that as part of SII’s agreement with AstraZeneca, firm will aim to produce vaccine doses that cost around $3 for 68 countries and under its agreement with vavax, for 92 countries.

'I still don't see a proper plan on paper'

He also raised concerns about vaccine distribution in India given country’s poor cold chain infrastructure to transport vaccine safely to its 1.4 billion people. “I still don’t see a proper plan on paper to do that [in India] beyond 400m doses. You don't want a situation with vaccine where you have capacity for your country but you can’t consume it,” he was quoted as saying by international daily.

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Meanwhile,  Pune-based vaccine maker on Sunday said Serum Institute of India will resume clinical trials of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine candidate after getting permission from Drugs Controller General of India(DCGI). Pharma giant AstraZeneca on Saturday said that clinical trials for AstraZeneca Oxford coronavirus vaccine, AZD1222, have resumed in UK following confirmation by Medicines Health Regulatory Authority (MHRA) that trials were safe. "Once DCGI will give us permission to restart trials in India, we will resume trials, "Serum Institute of India (SII) said in a statement.

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(With ncy inputs)