Ambassadors to visit Pune on Dec 4 to oversee Covid-19 vaccine production, distribution plan

Pune-based Serum institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine maker, has signed an agreement to manufacture the vaccine developed by the Jenner Institute of Oxford University in collaboration with British-Swedish pharma company AstraZeneca

Ambassadors and high commissioners of various countries will visit Serum Institute of India in Pune on December 4 to oversee the production of the Covid-19 vaccine and the company’s distribution plan, once it gets a nod from the regulators for use.

According to the itinerary released by the Ministry of External Affairs, the “familiarisation” visit of foreign ambassadors and high commissioners based in Delhi will be for one day and in two groups. (REUTERS)

According to the itinerary released by the Ministry of External Affairs, the “familiarisation” visit of foreign ambassadors and high commissioners based in Delhi will be for one day and in two groups. The ambassadors will visit Serum Institute in the morning and spend around three hours visiting facilities at the company’s Hadapsar campus. By afternoon, they will arrive at Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Limited at its Hinjewadi campus before heading back to Delhi.

“As per the earlier plan, the ambassadors were to visit Pune on November 27. However, their visit has been rescheduled for December 4. At Serum Institute, the ambassadors will see production of the Covid-19 vaccine and the distribution plan. A similar programme is planned at Gennova Biopharmaceuticals, which is also into vaccine production,” said Pune divisional commissioner Saurabh Rao.

Pune-based Serum institute of India (SII), the world’s largest vaccine maker, has signed an agreement to manufacture the vaccine developed by the Jenner Institute of Oxford University in collaboration with British-Swedish pharma company AstraZeneca. Both University of Oxford and AstraZeneca on Monday said that their coronavirus vaccine was up to 90% effective in late-stage clinical trials, raising hopes for arrival of shots in India by the end of the year.

Serum has enrolled 1,600 participants in India for late-stage trials of the Covishield vaccine. While the Pune firm plans to distribute vaccine shots globally, it has committed to reserving half of what it produces for India.

Earlier this month, the ministry of external affairs had conducted a session with heads of missions and international organisations to brief them about India’s handling of the pandemic, the software development for vaccine delivery and international cooperation on the pandemic and research.