THD NewsDesk, Pune: In a tweet, Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute, has raised a question that reasonably resides in many of the Indian minds. The firm has been working on the Oxford-based coronavirus vaccine to manufacture it in bulk, since August. He questioned if the State can afford the COVID-19 vaccine worth Rs 80,000 crore?
The Government is accountable for every individual of the country, so the capacity to bear the expense of the vaccine is essential. The Government must acquire and distribute the vaccine among all its citizens, said Mr Poonawalla.
The CEO also added in his tweet,
“I ask this question because we need to plan and guide, vaccine manufacturers both in India and overseas to service the needs of our country in terms of procurement and distribution.”
Serum Institute of India is the world’s largest vaccine manufacturing company and have collaborated with two of the top potential vaccine candidates from around the world. Oxford University has developed one along with biopharma giant AstraZeneca, named Covishield in India, which is undergoing phase II and phase III trials in the country. And the other one is developed by a US-based company, Novavax.
The SII earlier said that it would make the vaccine accessible to low and middle-income countries including India at USD 3.
According to the latest data on public debt by Finance ministry, the total liabilities of the Government has crossed Rs 101.3 lakh crore at end June 2020 from Rs 94.6 lakh crore at end-March 2020.
And hence, in the crucial need of the hour, the healthcare industry needs utmost attention.
Any advancement in the Public Health scenario, especially in the context of Covid, the Indian population has no option but to instil faith in the State.
With topping the “most-affected nation” list, among the several thousand questions that arise and are silenced every day, the question risen by Mr Poonawalla resonates with every Indian citizen.