India / PM's arrangements will take care of all Indians: Adar on vaccines

Pune: A day after questioning India’s financial plan to buy and distribute Covid-19 vaccine, Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla has now praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision on providing vaccines to the global community.

“We share and applaud your vision @narendramodi ji, on providing vaccines to the global community. It is a proud moment for India, thank you for your leadership and support. It is clear that all your arrangements for India will take care of all needs for the Indian people,” Poonawalla tweeted.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday highlighted how India has always thought about the interests of humankind and its contribution to the global fight against COVID-19 in his speech at the UN General Assembly. The Prime Minister assured the international community that India's coronavirus vaccine production and delivery capacity will help all humanity in fighting the pandemic.

"As the largest vaccine producing country of the world, I want to give one more assurance to the global community today. India's vaccine production and delivery capacity will be used to help all humanity in fighting this crisis. In India and in our neighbourhood, we are moving ahead with phase 3 clinical trials in India. India will also help all the countries in enhancing their cold chain and storage capacities for the delivery of the vaccines," he said.

Before PM Modi’s assurance on vaccine in his UNGA speech on Saturday, SII CEO Adar Poonawalla asked whether the government will have Rs 80,000 crores available over the next one year. “That’s what India needs to buy and distribute the vaccine to everyone in India. This is the next concerning challenge we need to tackle,” Poonawalla tweeted.

“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,” he added.

SII is the world’s biggest vaccine producer by number of doses produced every year. It is production and testing partner of Covishield, a vaccine being developed by Oxford University and pharma company Astrazeneca.