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Health minister releases 1st Covaxin batch from Bharat Biotech’s Gujarat plant
Mansukh Mandaviya said, “We want to ensure equitable access of the vaccine to every Indian citizen, and the expansion of Covaxin production facilities by Bharat Biotech will take us closer to this goal”
Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya released the first commercial batch of Covaxin from the Chiron Behring vaccines facility of Bharat Biotech in Ankleshwar, Gujarat, on Sunday.
He said, “India is focused on slowing the spread of Covid-19 in the country, and the key to achieving this lies in the swift and efficient administration of vaccines. We want to ensure equitable access of the vaccine to every Indian citizen, and the expansion of Covaxin production facilities by Bharat Biotech will take us closer to this goal.”
He also said the Ankleshwar plant has a manufacturing capacity of at least 10million doses per month starting Sunday.
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On the status of Covaxin production in India, the Union minister said that Bharat Biotech has multiple production lines at its Hyderabad, Malur, Bengaluru, and Pune campuses, apart from that of Chiron Behring,
Dr Krishna Ella, chairman & managing director, Bharat Biotech, said, “Our goal to develop a vaccine with global safety and efficacy standards has now been achieved, we are now marching towards the goal of annualised capacity of ~ 1.0 billion doses.”
The health minister also took to Twitter to talk about the importance of vaccination drive in fighting the pandemic and said the launch “will increase the supply of vaccine in the country and will help in reaching the vaccine to every Indian.”
The nationwide vaccination drive against Covid-19 is expected to gather pace in September as more than 240 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines are likely to be administered next month, Hindustan Times’ sister website Live Hindustan reported, citing Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan.
