Adar Poonawalla, CEO and owner of Serum Institute of India, appealed to US President Joe Biden to lift the embargo on the export of raw materials so that manufacturing of vaccines can be ramped up in India amidst the second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Adar Poonawalla said that “if we are to truly unite in beating this virus, on behalf of the vaccine industry outside the U.S., I humbly request you to lift the embargo of raw material exports out of the U.S. so that vaccine production can ramp up. Your administration has the details.”
Previously, he had said that the production of COVID-19 vaccines in the country had taken a hit because of the restrictions imposed by the United States and the European countries on the export of critical raw material.
“I wish I could go there and protest in the US myself to say that you are holding back critical raw material that are required for Covaxin and so many vaccine manufacturers in India and other parts of the world,” he had said earlier in an interview with India Today.
He added that the shortage and and struggling for raw material is for short term because in a few months, they will be able to develop other suppliers. Poonawalla also added that SII is not looking to import raw material from China because of its quality issues and other supply constraints.