What the UK is getting out of the Serum Institute is what India is losing. And the responsibility of the Indian State ought to have been to dictate where Serum Institute's vaccine doses should go, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The expert committee sought more information from Serum Institute regarding the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
Currently, Covishield and other COVID vaccines are approved for people above the age of 18 years.
SII's CEO Adar Poonawalla took to Twitter to announce the "philanthropic" gesture.
Adar Poonawalla said the real challenge lies in taking the vaccine to the "common man, to the vulnerable groups of people and to healthcare workers".
More screens, more films, and longer windows will convert to more people watching, assuming they know a film is releasing, points out Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
The Bombay high court on Monday said content posted by two individuals and their organisations against vaccine manufacturing major Serum Institute of India (SII) was "prima facie defamatory" and directed them to delete it.
Serum Institute has the capacity to make 250 million doses of Covishield monthly.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said that whether the fire at the Serum Institute of India (SII) was an accident or sabotage will be known only after the probe gets over.
The Sampark Foundation boasts of a $100 million outlay funded entirely by the Nayars and represents more than half of their wealth.
Apart from making efforts to meet the requirements of India, the company is also trying its best to balance the needs of the rest of the world, he added.
Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, has a licence to produce the shot and has already manufactured close to 50 million doses.
Confirming the Drugs Controller General Of India (DCGI) approval, Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla on Tuesday tweeted: '@SerumInstIndia's brand Covovax has completed bridging studies in India and has been granted Emergency Use Authorisation by DCGI for adults and for children above the age of 12. Younger age groups will follow shortly.'
The approval by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) was given on the basis of recommendations submitted by a COVID-19 subject expert committee (SEC) of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).
The development comes after Prakash Kumar Singh, the Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs at SII, informed the Union health ministry that the firm would be able to supply 20.29 crore doses of Covishied in the month of September.
Pune-based entrepreneur's unlisted company is already the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world and the networth has been helped by vaccine distribution and manufacturing potential of his business, it added. Recentrly, Serum struck an agreement with AstraZeneca to manufacture 1 billion doses of coronavirus vaccine being developed by Oxford University.
The Union Health Ministry on Friday announced that those above the age of 18 years who have completed nine months after the administration of the second dose will be eligible for the precaution dose.
Siddharth Roy Kapur's RKF aims to raise around $50 million by offering up to a 50 per cent stake in the company.
Serum Institute of India CEO Aadar Poonawalla has said that the production of Covid-19 vaccine Covishield is in full swing in Pune and he will review the operations once he is back in the country in a few days. Poonawalla is currently in the UK to meet his family members.
There were apprehensions in the SII about rival Bharat Biotech's 'indigenous' tag, opening up shortcuts for it. One senior person, who was very familiar with the sector, told me, 'The message has gone out from the very top. Somani (V G Somani -- drug controller general of India) has told me "Bharat ka karna hai".' A fascinating excerpt from Abantika Ghosh's Billions Under Lockdown: The Inside Story Of India's Fight Against COVID-19.
SII has signed an agreement to manufacture the potential vaccine developed by Jenner Institute of Oxford University in collaboration with British-Swedish pharma company AstraZeneca.
Industry experts believe that this deal will positively impact the Indian film industry, which is struggling with fewer movie releases.
While there has been no commitment from the government on the procurement of vaccines, initial volumes, or distribution plans, there is a likelihood that the low interest loans may be made available to these players only when the time to scale up manufacturing arises.
The prime minister was happy that the assurance given by the Serum Institute that it will make India self-sufficient in vaccines at the lowest possible price in the world was fulfilled.
The study also noted that the booster dosage of the company's COVID-19 vaccine Vaxzevria also increased the immune response to Beta, Delta, Alpha and Gamma SARS-CoV-2 variants.
'We are trying to salvage 50-100 million doses of Covishield with the latest drive on booster doses.'
On production capacity of Covishield, the vaccine being manufactured and supplied by Serum in India under a licensing agreement with Oxford and AstraZeneca, he said the present capacity is 130 million doses per month and always try to increase it further.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries and Tata Group have made it to the prestigious TIME's list of 100 World's Most Influential Companies of 2024. TIME called Reliance 'India's Juggernaut'. This is the second time that Reliance has found its way into the TIME list. Jio Platforms, the firm that holds digital properties of the conglomerate, was included in the inaugural TIME 100 Most Influential Companies List of 2021. Serum Institute is the other Indian company on the list.
'Supplies should start moving to the Serum Institute without any impediments.'
'Just put a patch on your arm and the vaccine can be absorbed by the body.'
Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella along with Alphabet Inc and its subsidiary Google CEO Sundararajan Pichai are also among those from trade and industry who have been awarded the Padma Bhushan for their distinguished services.
Apollo Hospitals and Fortis Healthcare are open to importing vaccines.
This is Kareena's first appearance after she gave birth to her second son on February 21.
Bharat Biotech, Serum Institute, Zydus Cadila, Panacea Biotec, Indian Immunologicals, Mynvax and Biological E are among the domestic pharma firms working on the coronavirus vaccines in India.
'What is Balaji without Ekta (Kapoor), what is Dharma without Karan (Johar?)'
'I can say with confidence that any future SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, developed anywhere in the world, would have to be manufactured in India, if it is to be affordable and of high quality.'
Once available, Sputnik V will be the third vaccine to be used in India against coronavirus.
Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) is sitting on 200 million doses of Covishield that were manufactured in December and are set to expire in September. The company is likely to destroy these vaccines if nothing works out, Sohini Das reports.
Dominic Xavier offers his take on the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in India as the citizens can hope and pray for the miracle of an early vaccine.
