Oxford vaccine to be available by February 2021, says SII CEO Poonawala

New Delhi: The CEO of Serum Institute of India (SII), Adar Poonawala has said that the Oxford vaccine for COVID-19 will be available around February next year, for the elderly people and the healthcare professionals. The cost of the vaccine will be a maximum of Rs 1,000 for two doses for the public. However, it depends completely on the final Oxford vaccine trial results and the approvals by the regulatory bodies.

While addressing the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2020, Poonawala said that by the year 2024, every Indian would get vaccinated. The CEO said that it will take a few years because of the budget, infrastructure, the vaccine, logistics, and also, the people willing to take the vaccine doses.

Speaking on the price of the vaccine, Poonawal said that they are trying to make the vaccine as cheaper as possible so that it is more affordable than the other vaccines in the market.

Talking about the Oxford vaccine efficacy, Poonawala said that it is working well in the patients, which also includes the elderly ones. However, he further added that it is still uncertain if the vaccine will protect the patients for the long term or not.

Poonawala said that the vaccine will apply for emergency authorisation in India when the UK authorities and European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA) approve the vaccine candidate for emergency use.

The vaccine, however, will only be limited to the most vulnerable ones at first, which includes the healthcare professionals and elderly people. Children, who are least affected by the virus, have to wait till safety data is out.

Unlike the vaccine candidate by Pfizer, which requires to be stored at minus 70-degree celsius, the Oxford vaccine can be stored at a temperature of two to eight degrees Celsius in India.

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