'Please be patient': Adar Poonawalla urges nations waiting for Covishield vaccines
Pune/IBNS: Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla on Sunday requested countries and governments to "be patient" amid the wait for 'Covishield' supplies, the coronavirus vaccine his pharmaceutical company has developed in partnership with the Oxford University and British-Swedish pharma firm AstraZeneca.
The Serum Institute has emerged as the world's largest vaccine manufacturer by volume.
In a tweet, Poonawalla wrote: "Dear countries & governments, as you await #COVISHIELD supplies, I humbly request you to please be patient, @SerumInstIndia has been directed to prioritise the huge needs of India and along with that balance the needs of the rest of the world. We are trying our best (sic)," Poonawalla wrote.
Dear countries & governments, as you await #COVISHIELD supplies, I humbly request you to please be patient, @SerumInstIndia has been directed to prioritise the huge needs of India and along with that balance the needs of the rest of the world. We are trying our best.
— Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) February 21, 2021
Covishield is one of the two indigenous vaccines that has been cleared by India's drug controller for emergency use. The other vaccine approved for the same in Bharat Biotech's Covaxin.
India has already been exporting coronavirus vaccines to many countries.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau that India would do its best to facilitate supplies of Covid vaccines sought by Canada.
India has emerged as one of the world's top vaccine maker and an increasing number of countries are approaching it for procuring the drugs to prevent the deadly coronavirus.
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