SII urges Centre to use 10 crore Covishield doses

New Delhi: The Serum Institute of India has urged the Centre to use the available 10 crore doses of Covishield offered free of cost by GAVI under COVAX facility in view of rising COVID-19 cases in the country, an official source said.

The Pune-based firm has written to the MoHF that if these 10 crore free doses of Covishield are not taken by the Indian govt timely, it will lead to wastage of the life saving vaccines amid the pandemic outbreak.

In a letter to the ministry, Prakash Kumar Singh, Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs at SII, is learnt to have stated that the firm has already supplied 14 crore doses of Covishield to the Govt of India (GoI) through UNICEF under “COVAX” facility of GAVI free of cost.