Serum Institute to produce additional 10 crore doses of covid vaccines
Live MintIn a move to provide potential Covid-19 vaccine, the world's largest vaccine manufacturing company, Serum Institute of India said today that it would get a further $150 million in funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the GAVI vaccines alliance to make an additional 100 million Covid-19 vaccine doses for India and other low- and middle-income countries next year. "GAVI via its Strategic Investment Fund, will provide at-risk funding of a further $150 million, bringing the total funding provided through this collaboration to $300 million," the company said in a statement. The Gavi COVAX AMC, which is currently seeking at least $2 billion in initial seed funding, will meet at least part of the cost of procurement for the vaccine doses. On Saturday, calling vaccine manufacturing and distribution a "concerning challenge", Serum's head Adar Poonawalla said that the government may need ₹80,000 crore over the next one year for distribution of covid-19 vaccine to every person in India.