After one year, people might look at Covid vaccine only as a booster: Adar Poonawalla

As India scripted history on Thursday achieving the 100-crore vaccination milestone, Adar Poonawalla, chief executive officer of Serum Institute of India, who is responsible for nearly 90% of the total supplies of Covid-19 vaccine in India, shares with Teena Thacker his journey and how his company overcame a plethora of challenges to reach this milestone. Edited excerpts:

How has the journey been so far?
From getting regulatory approvals, building the plant, getting the funding together, it was a huge task. This has cost us more than $800 million. We raised capital from the Gates Foundation, and other countries which gave us an advance, and even the government of India supported us financially. We put a lot of our own money. Getting the raw material in huge volumes was a challenge. That was holding our scale up, when the second wave hit us in 2021. Raw materials, approvals, funding, capex, executing all of these together to be able to reach the plants, sacrificing other products to be able to make only Covishield in our campus, was the real challenge.


How did you mobilise your people for the vaccine production?
We recruited more than 1,000 additional people only for Covid-19 vaccine. We recruited over and above what we have. It goes without saying that multiple departments, half of Serum Institute, is dedicated to making Covid vaccines; eventually, we are going to make Covovax and other vaccines, too.

You said you had received threats. How was your situation at that time?
It got exaggerated. I think there was tremendous pressure, and rightly so, because everybody wanted vaccines. I am grateful to the government with whose support I was able to manage all the pressures, everyone's requirements and expectations. That's how we were able to get over all the challenges. Even the permissions, licences, financial help, the government was very supportive.

Will the manufacturing of Covid-19 vaccine affect the supplies of other products?
All our products which we were going to launch this year may get delayed by the next two years, so that we could serve the needs of the nation and fulfill Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision.

The Covid vaccines are much in demand right now but how do you see the future?
I think after one year, people will not need it and may look at it as a booster, which will be optional. So that's the way we look at it. This is the hiatus period where everybody wants to be protected first, and then maybe, some will take boosters later on, annually, bi-annually. So, I think this is roughly required for two years, then, after that, it will simmer down.

Are you in favour of booster doses?
Ethically, my view is that till everyone gets two doses, booster doses should not be offered; unless you are in a very vulnerable category of age or comorbidity, you should not be eligible for a booster. The science also says that if you are healthy with two doses you are protected roughly at least for a year plus. We will see after that, if we need to vaccinate everyone with the booster. That should be on science and ethics.