November 23, 2024 02:03 (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
'Third World War has begun:' Ex-Ukraine military commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny | UK-India Free Trade Agreement negotiations to resume in early 2024 | UK can arrest Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits country based on ICC warrant | Centre to send over 10,000 additional soldiers to violence-hit Manipur amid fresh violence | Chhattisgarh: 10 Maoists killed during encounter with security forces in Sukma
'Never exported vaccines at the cost of people of India': Adar Poonawalla
Adar Poonawalla | Covishield
Image Credit: Adar Poonawalla Twitter page

'Never exported vaccines at the cost of people of India': Adar Poonawalla

| @indiablooms | 18 May 2021, 07:59 pm

Pune/IBNS: Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India (SII), the manufacturer of Covishield, on Tuesday said that his company has "never exported vaccines at the cost of the people of India".

In a statement, Poonawalla asserted that given the huge population of India, it is impossible to vaccinate all the beneficiaries in the matter of two or three months.

He also explained the situation in which Covishield doses were exported and the Indian government's commitment in the initial stages of Covid-19 pandemic last year.

In January, when vaccines were launched, India had a stockpile and the Covid cases dipped to an "all time low".

During this time, several nations were faced with an "acute crisis" and flagged "desperate need of help".

The government, he said, extended a hand of help in whatever ways possible.

He said that the Covid-19 pandemic will "not be limited by geographical or political boundaries," and pointed out that "we will not be safe till everyone has been able to defeat the virus on a global scale".

Government gave Poonawalla Y category security after a threat assessment as anger rose in the country amid reports of vaccine shortage.

After a few days, he had left for the UK.

Recently, he told Times that he received aggressive calls from some of the most powerful people in India, demanding Covishield supplies. Later, he, however, clarified that his comments were "misinterpreted".

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.