Serum Institute of India’s first international consignment since ban revoked put on hold

Sources from the SII said that the consignment was to leave for Nepal by afternoon but was later cancelled. While the institute did not reveal the reason for cancellation, it did state that the consignment would be back on its way in the coming few days

PUNE: After the Indian government-imposed ban on exports from the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) was revoked last week, the first international consignment that the SII had prepared to send out on Monday was later put on hold.

The first international consignment that the SII had prepared to send out on Monday was later put on hold. (REUTERS)

Sources from the SII said that the consignment was to leave for Nepal by afternoon but was later cancelled. While the institute did not reveal the reason for cancellation, it did state that the consignment would be back on its way in the coming few days.

Currently, the SII supplies over 90% of the Covid-19 vaccine within the country and with an adequate supply of vaccine already in the pipeline, the institute is now ready to send out vaccine to other countries and fulfill its prior commitments.

In the event the consignment had been delivered, it would have been the first consignment sent by the SII to a foreign country since the January 2021 imposition of a ban on exports owing to domestic demand and shortage of vaccine doses at the time.

Now however, the issue of vaccine shortage is no longer relevant. “The vaccine industry has worked tirelessly to provide enough stock for the nation. Today, there are over 200 million doses available with the states. I urge all adults to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Vaccine hesitancy is now the greatest threat in overcoming this pandemic,” Adar Poonawalla, chief executive officer, SII, tweeted earlier.

As of now, the country has vaccinated over a billion people, which includes both the first and second dose. Since crossing the one billion mark, the country has seen over 175.8 million vaccines in the last one month alone. It is estimated that the country will need about 1.8 billion vaccines to fully vaccinate the entire eligible population, as it is estimated that there are about 950 million people who are eligible for the vaccine and are aged above 18 years. This means that the country needs about 624 million doses more to fully vaccinate everyone who is eligible.

As of now, the states have about 200 million doses available with them according to Poonawalla. Official sources from the SII said that the institute has about 150 million doses of vaccine in storage and can produce over 220 million doses a month if it runs under full capacity. In addition to fulfilling its prior commitments under GAVI for Covax countries and to other western countries, the SII will also have to face the challenge of continuing heavy supply of vaccine to the states.