Serum said it would ramp production to 10 crore by August, while Bharat Biotech promised 7.8 crore monthly production
With several Indian states complaining of a shortage of COVID-19 vaccines, Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech informed the Centre that they would be increasing their production in the coming months.
Accordingly, both the companies submitted their production plan to the Centre for the next four months. Serum said it would ramp production to 10 crore by August, while Bharat Biotech promised 7.8 crore monthly production.
PTI sources revealed the Union Health Ministry and the office of Drugs Controller General of India had sought from both the firms their production plan for June, July, August and September. Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield, which is manufactured by Pune-based Serum Institute of India, are the two vaccines that are being used for vaccination against COVID-19 in India.
Dr V Krishna Mohan, the Whole-time Director of Bharat Biotech, is learnt to have conveyed to the government that the production of Covaxin would be raised to 3.32 crore in July, and to 7.82 crore in August which will be maintained in September too.
Similarly, Prakash Kumar Singh, Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs at Serum Institute of India, has communicated that the production of Covishield would be ramped up to 10 crore doses each in August and will be maintained at that level in September, the official sources said.
“We confirm that the quantities mentioned will be fulfilled under all circumstances. Also, we are trying our best by utilising all our resources to increase our production capacity of Covishield. Given this, the production during June and July may also increase by some quantity,” Singh said in a communique to the health ministry.
PTI
