Prioritising domestic vaccine needs, asks for patience: Serum Institute of India
New Delhi: Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's biggest vaccine maker by volume, on Sunday asked for patience from foreign governments awaiting their supply of COVID-19 shots, saying it had been directed to prioritise India's requirements."…I humbly request you to please be patient," SII's Chief Executive Adar Poonawalla said in a tweet adding the company "has been directed to prioritise the huge needs of India and along with that balance the needs of the rest of the world."
"We are trying our best," Poonawalla said. Based in the western Indian city of Pune, the company is manufacturing the Oxford University/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, one of the two shots that India is using to initially vaccinate some 300 million people as part of a national inoculation drive. Many low-and middle-income countries, ranging from Bangladesh to Brazil, are depending on SII's AstraZeneca vaccine, branded COVISHIELD by the Indian company. But demand is growing, including from Western countries like Canada, where Poonawalla has promised to deliver the COVISHIELD vaccine next month.
