India will likely need at least three to four months to complete the Covid-19 vaccination efforts for frontline workers and those over 60, or with underlying health conditions, the executive director of the Serum Institute of India said Thursday.
In January, the South Asian country launched the world’s largest vaccination campaign for about 300 million people out of a total population of 1.3 billion. As of Wednesday evening, more than 36 million people have been vaccinated, according to data from the Indian Ministry of Health.
“The number of doses required in India is enormous,” Suresh Jadhav told CNBC’s “Capital Connection,” adding that the vaccination program is a massive task that is impossible to complete in a short time.
“At the rate of about 50 (million) to 60 million doses per month, this program will continue and will cover this population of 300 million in about another three to four months,” he said.
Jadhav took part in the Asian Development Bank’s Southeast Asia Development Symposium 2021 this week.
The Pune, India-based Serum Institute has emerged as a pivotal player in Covid’s vaccination efforts both in India and globally. It is the world’s largest vaccine producer by volume, producing the Covid-19 vaccine developed by British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and Oxford University, known locally as Covishield.
It has delivered millions of doses to the Indian government and to Covax, a global vaccination initiative led by the World Health Organization and others to ensure a fair distribution of shots in less affluent countries.
An exterior view of Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd. which makes the Covid-19 vaccine in Hadapsar, on November 23, 2020 in Pune, India.
Pratham Gokhale | Hindustan Times | Getty Images
In response to growing demand for its Covid vaccine, Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute, last month asked foreign governments to be patient and said, without further explaining, that the company had been told to first address the domestic demand.
Jadhav explained that Serum Institute is able to fulfill the current orders placed by the Indian government and said it has already delivered about 59 million doses to Covax. He added that the Serum Institute plans to expand its capacity by the end of April or the beginning of May, when it plans to increase production by an additional 40 million to 50 million doses.
Currently, Serum Institute is said to be able to produce more than 70 million doses per month.
Last week, the United States, Japan and Australia pledged to help Indian companies expand their production capacity for Covid vaccines and deliver more doses to the global supply.
India also uses a locally developed Bharat Biotech vaccine that has been developed in conjunction with the state-run Indian Medical Research Council.