With just a few days to go for the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in India, the transportation of Covishield has been delayed – for the second time – by 48 hours.
The Covishield vaccine, being produced by the Serum Institute of India (SII), was scheduled to be airlifted on January 7 and was later deferred to January 8. Now, its transportation is likely to begin on January 11.
SII has dismissed reports that the 'price negotiations' with the Union government has caused the delay, The Times of India reported.
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"No movement has happened today (January 9) too. As said earlier, we are fully prepared and ready from our end. We can easily handle (the transportation) and are at present handling more than 150 tonnes of cargo in a single day," Pune airport director Kuldeep Singh said, as per the report.
Another airline representative, did not want to be named, told the newspaper that the transportation has been postponed till January 11.
Meanwhile, SII Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla said that there is "absolutely no price negotiation at all". "The rollout will happen in a few days. There are due processes to be followed before we transport the vaccine doses,” he told the newspaper.
Serum Institute has stockpiled 75 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca-Oxford University. However, the Pune-based vaccine maker is yet to receive a purchase order from the Centre.
The second nationwide mock drill of the exercise was conducted on January 8 as the country prepares to rollout COVID-19 vaccines.
India's drugs regulator has approved Covishield, being manufactured by the Serum Institute, and indigenously developed Covaxin of Bharat Biotech for restricted emergency use in the country.
Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on January 8 issued guidelines to all aircraft operators who plan to transport COVID-19 vaccines packed in dry ice to various parts of the country, outlining the necessary safety precautions and modalities.
If vaccines packed in dry ice are being transported in the passenger cabin of an aircraft, then the flight crew should be properly trained on the hazards and risks of its transportation, the aviation regulator said.
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