The CEO of Serum Institute of India Adar Poonawalla assured that the production of Covishield in Pune is in full swing and that he shall be reviewing the operations upon his return to India after having to leave the country for security purposes.
Adar Poonawalla took to Twitter to share the latest update on his meeting with the stakeholders in the UK and production of Covishield. His Tweet read, “Had an excellent meeting with all our partners & stakeholders in the U.K. Meanwhile, pleased to state that COVISHIELD’s production is in full swing in Pune. I look forward to reviewing operations upon my return in a few days.”
Had an excellent meeting with all our partners & stakeholders in the U.K. Meanwhile, pleased to state that COVISHIELD’s production is in full swing in Pune. I look forward to reviewing operations upon my return in a few days.
— Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) May 1, 2021
The update comes after Adar Poonawalla’s exit from India on ‘facing threats from most powerful men in India, chief ministers of Indian states, heads of business conglomerates and other influential people.’
What started with exchanging pleasantries took a different route into pressurising and intimidating to provide vaccines on priority informed Poonawalla.
“Threats is an understatement. The level of expectations and aggression is really unprecedented. It’s overwhelming. Everyone feels they should get the vaccine. They can’t understand why anyone else should get it before them,” Poonawalla reportedly said to The Times.
He further added, “I’m staying here (Britain) extended times because I don’t want to go back to that situation. Everything falls on my shoulders but I can’t do it alone…I don’t want to be in a situation where you are trying to do your job, and just because you can’t supply the needs of X, Y and Z you really don’t want to guess what they are going to do.”
Adar Poonawalla given additional security
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had provided Poonawalla Y category security comprising 11 personnel, including one or two commandos and police personnel. The centre’s decision had come after Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs, at the Serum Institute, Prakash Kumar Singh wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on April 16 requesting security for Poonawalla.
SII announces reduction in price
The Serum Institute of India on Wednesday had announced a reduction of 25 percent in the price of the vaccine for the states.
As a philanthropic gesture on behalf of @SerumInstIndia, I hereby reduce the price to the states from Rs.400 to Rs.300 per dose, effective immediately; this will save thousands of crores of state funds going forward. This will enable more vaccinations and save countless lives.
— Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) April 28, 2021
Poonawalla in his Tweet stated that the price reduction will enable state governments to save crores and will also encourage more vaccinations, thereby saving countless lives.