Fight against COVID begins as first consignment of Covishield vaccines leave facility

Three temperature-controlled trucks rolled out of the Serum Institute gates shortly before 5 am and left for Pune airport, from where the vaccines will be flown across India. The trucks carried 478 boxes of the vaccines, each box weighing 32 kg, a source involved in the vaccine transport arrangements told PTI. A 'puja' was performed before the vehicles left the facility.

Besides Delhi, the vaccines will be dispatched to 12 other locations across the country in seven more flights by 10 am on Tuesday, the source said. The locations include Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Karnal, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Guwahati, Lucknow, Chandigarh and Bhubaneswar. The flights include two cargo flights, the source said. The first cargo flight will cover Hyderabad, Vijayawada, and Bhubaneswar and the second cargo flight will go to Kolkata and Guwahati, he added.

The consignment for Mumbai will leave by road. Trucks belonging to Kool-ex Cold Chain Ltd are being used to ferry the vaccine stocks from Serum Institute. A consignment will be flown to Ahmedabad. On Monday, Gujarat deputy chief minister Nitin Patel tweeted that his state will receive the first consignment of coronavirus vaccine on Tuesday at 10.45 am at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport in Ahmedabad.

In pic - A police officer performs prayers in front of a truck carrying first consignment of COVISHIELD before it leaves from Serum Bio-Pharma Park of Serum Institute of India, to be distributed, in Pune.

The Central government on Monday placed firm orders in advanced commitments for over six crore doses of vaccines from Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech for inoculating three crore healthcare and frontline workers in the first phase of the nationwide vaccination drive beginning January 16. Interacting with state chief ministers on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi underscored the enormity of what he called as the world's biggest vaccination exercise.