Delivery of the domestically manufactured Covaxin coronavirus vaccine has been delayed by quality issues with the first batches of dosages made at the company's newest facility in Bengaluru, a senior government adviser said. As the vaccine shortage crisis continues to hit the nationwide vaccination campaign, Dr NK Arora, head of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI), that the government initially expected large-scale production of Covaxin, but initial failures, including quality, slowed the whole process.
Covaxin, recommended by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), is one of the two main vaccines, the other is the Serum Institute of India's Covishield, which is administered domestically against the virus. "The test batches from the Bengaluru plant were unsatisfactory and rejected, delaying production, but now the batches have been approved by the competent authority and are being made available for public consumption," the ANI news agency said.
Dr Arora said Bharat Biotech will soon be able to grow its production to around 710 crore cans per month in the coming weeks. "Almost 47 million doses have been administered to date. Overall availability should increase significantly in August and Bharat Biotech is expected to be able to deliver seven to 10 million doses per month over the coming weeks," he said.
"Bharat Biotech and the Serum Institute are our primary vaccine providers and we look forward to continuing our mission to complete the adult vaccination program in this country," he added. Regarding the current state of vaccine supply, he said, "Serum Institute produced nearly 8 10 crore doses, 33.5 crores from Bharat Biotech and a small contribution from (Russia) Sputnik V." Dr Arora also expressed the hope that ZyCoVD, manufactured by Zydus Cadila of Ahmedabad, will be available soon.