Pune-based vaccine manufacturer and Russian Direct Investment Fund say they intend to produce 30 crore doses of the vaccine in India in a year
A medic prepares a dose of Sputnik V to vaccinate a beneficiary, at a hospital in Kochi, on Tuesday. Pic/PTI
Serum Institute of India (SII) will start production of Sputnik vaccine at the company’s facilities in September, Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said on Tuesday. As per the agreement between RDIF and SII, the parties intend to produce over 30 crore doses of the vaccine in India per year. “The first batch of Sputnik vaccine is expected to be produced at SII’s facilities in September,” RDIF, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, said in a statement.
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As part of the technical transfer process, SII has already received cell and vector samples from the Gamaleya Centre. With their import approved by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), the cultivation process has begun, RDIF said.
With technology transfer underway, “we expect the first batches of the vaccine to be produced jointly with SII in coming months,” RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said. SII CEO Adar Poonawalla said with high efficacy and a good safety profile, it is critical that the Sputnik V vaccine is accessible in full measure for people across India and the world.
A woman gets a dose of Russia’s Sputnik V in Mumbai on Tuesday. Pic/AFP
Meanwhile, Delhi government on Tuesday reported shortage of Covishield, also produced by SII, because of which several public centres turned away beneficiaries.
“I have been coming here [a public vaccination centre] for the past three days to get my second shot. It was due 10 days ago but now they are saying there is no vaccine. How long shall we wait to get our shots?” asked 78-year-old Daroga Rai.
Another woman, Savita, who came to a public centre for her first dose said, “We have been told that vaccines are not available. They are not telling us when to come next. No matter what, commoners suffer.”
“Vaccine availability is low. We received 1.5 lakh Covishield doses yesterday, which will be used up by tomorrow, after which centres will be closed. We have to repeatedly shut centres,” Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Tuesday.
Increase our quota: TN CM
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, in a letter to the prime minister, also raised the issue of shortage, which he said arose because the state has not received vaccines proportionate to its population. He sought a special allocation of 1 crore doses to correct the ‘imbalance.’ “The success of my government’s efforts to eliminate vaccine hesitancy and make the drive a mass movement now squarely rests on the doses made available to us.”
Railway officials and their kin wait to receive Covid-19 vaccine from a mobile vaccination centre at Nadia, West Bengal, on Tuesday. Pic/PTI
“The number of vaccine doses provided to our state is only 302 per thousand eligible population. This is very low when compared to the vaccine doses made available to comparable states like Gujarat, Karnataka and Rajasthan, which are at 533, 493 and 446, respectively.”
India added 2,020 deaths after Madhya Pradesh reconciled its fatality data, and 31,443 new cases in a span of 24 hours, as per the official data updated on Tuesday morning.
UP CM allows kanwar yatra with -ve report
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has urged that only a minimum number of people should participate in the Kanwar Yatra and directed strict implementation of the Covid-19 protocols, a spokesperson said on Tuesday. The government, which has allowed the yatra from July 25 despite warnings about such events triggering a third Covid-19 wave, said a negative RT-PCR test report can be made compulsory for pilgrims, if required.
India’s first Covid patient +ve again
A doctor, who was India’s first Covid-19 case, has tested positive again for the Coronavirus, Thrissur health authorities said on Tuesday. “Her RT-PCR is positive. She is asymptomatic,” Thrissur DMO Dr K J Reena said. Her samples were tested before her trip to New Delhi for study. She is at home and “OK,” the doctor said. It was on January 30, 2020, that the third year medical student from Wuhan university tested positive for Coronavirus, becoming India’s first Covid-19 patient, days after she had returned home following semester holidays.
UP CM allows kanwar yatra with -ve report
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has urged that only a minimum number of people should participate in the Kanwar Yatra and directed strict implementation of the Covid-19 protocols, a spokesperson said on Tuesday. The government, which has allowed the yatra from July 25 despite warnings about such events triggering a third Covid-19 wave, said a negative RT-PCR test report can be made compulsory for pilgrims, if required.
3,09,05,819
Total no. of Coronavirus cases in india so far
4,10,784
Total no. of deaths due to the virus in India so far
4,31,315
Total no. of active cases in India
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