Chandpur Times Top Newspaper in Chandpur
India bans Serum Institute of exporting vaccines of Oxford. The Indian government will not allow the Oxford-AstraZeneca corona vaccine to be exported for several months. The news agency AP quoted the head of the Serum Institute of India as saying.
The Serum Institute has agreed to produce 1 billion doses of Oxford-Astrageneca vaccine for several developing countries. The lion’s share of the corona vaccine that will be produced this year will go to the richest countries in the world. Under such circumstances, most of the vaccines produced by the Serum Institute, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, were supposed to be available in developing countries. But with India banning vaccine exports, the world’s poorest countries will most likely have to wait months to get vaccinated.
Ginger Punawala, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Serum Institute, told the AP in a telephone interview that the vaccine approval authority in India had on Sunday approved the emergency use of the Oxford vaccine subject to conditions. The Serum Institute is currently unable to export vaccines to ensure the protection or immunization of at-risk populations in India.
The CEO of the Serum Institute also said that the marketing of vaccines in Oxford has been banned for the time being.
Ginger Punawala said, “At the moment (vaccine) we can only give to the Government of India.”
As a result of India’s decision, it will not be possible to export vaccines to Oxford before next March or April, said Ginger Punawala, head of the Serum Institute.
Ginger Punawala said the Serum Institute is in talks with Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia and Morocco to provide vaccines to Oxford. “We are not able to vaccinate everyone at the moment,” he said. Vaccination has to be provided on priority basis. So that the most vulnerable people of our country (India) in different states and other countries get vaccinated.
News Room, January 04,2020
