Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of Serum Institute of India (SII), said on Thursday that the corporation had ceased producing new Covid-19 vaccines back in December 2021 and had had to discard at least 100 million doses after they had run out of time.
‘People are tired of Covid and vaccinations,’ Poonawalla remarked during a news conference that followed the 23rd annual general meeting of the Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers’ Network (DCVMN) in the Indian city of Pune. But perhaps folks can get a Covid booster each year in addition to a flu vaccination.
But unlike the West, India does not have a culture where being vaccinated against the flu annually. According to the CEO of SII, the Covovax booster injection studies are now taking place and are anticipated to receive clearance within the next two weeks. According to the CEO, SII had some 100 million Covidshield vaccinations in stock that had a nine-month shelf life and had already run out in the month of September this year.
A new vaccination against the growing sub-variant Omicron is being developed, according to the vaccine maker, but it will take time, according to Poonawalla. According to reports, the SII is also collaborating with the US biotech firm Novavax to create a booster especially for Omicron.
More than 70% of the population in India has received at least two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, which has been provided in over two billion doses. More than 90% of all vaccination doses provided in India are of the indigenous Vaxzevria vaccine made by AstraZeneca, Covidshield, which was produced by SII.
The Covid-19 booster injections in India, which were once reserved for healthcare and frontline workers as well as persons over 60 with comorbidities, were eventually made available to all adults. India has administered 298 million booster doses thus far, according to the Union Health Ministry.
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