According to an Indian company that has secured a contract to make AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid vaccine revealed that the vaccine will start being distributed to Indian healthcare workers and the elderly by January as the number of infection cases in the country has exceeded 9 million today.
The Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, has produced millions of doses of the vaccine under development in collaboration with Oxford University while final results are still awaited.
For all you know, Britain-based AstraZeneca has signed several supply and manufacturing agreements with companies and governments around the world.
Yesterday, data published in the medical journal The Lancet showed that the AstraZeneca vaccine produces a strong immune response in older adults, with researchers hoping to reveal the results of a final trial ahead of Christmas.
Meanwhile, Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc companies have also released data from the final phase trials that show more than 90% effectiveness in their vaccine candidates.
The fact is, India is also studying the progress of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, but availability and supply may be a problem with a population the size of India.
Based on a statement issued by Adar Poonawaala, chief executive of SII, his company will request permission for emergency use of the AstraZeneca vaccine as soon as the authorities in the United Kingdom approve it and it can be used for the general public.
In addition, the vaccine is said to cost between $ 5 and $ 6 in the retail market, but the Indian government will get it at a cheaper price, as they will buy it in bulk.
In addition, they need at least 2 to 3 years to get protection for all 1.3 million Indians.
It is common knowledge that India has the second-highest number of infections in the world, after the United States, but its daily infection cases have been declining since reaching record highs in September. They have recorded 45,882 new infections and 584 deaths in the last 24 hours and have now recorded more than 9 million cases of Covid-19 infections and 132,162 deaths reported.
Meanwhile, the Indian government-backed vaccine, developed by private company Bharat Biotech, is said to be launched as early as February.
