India could face vaccine crunch for 2-3 months, says Serum CEO Adar Poonawalla

India is likely to face a vaccine shortage for the next few months, Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla said. He added that the capacity will increase to 100 million doses only by July 2021 from the current 60-70 million a month.

In an interview to the Financial Times, he said he had not expanded capacity earlier because of lack of orders. Severe vaccine shortage would continue through July, he warned. “There were no orders, we did not think we needed to make more than 1 billion doses a year,” he said in the interview.

The FT quotes him as saying the authorities did not expect a second wave in January. “Everybody really felt India had started to turn the tide on the pandemic,” he said.

Last month, the Centre gave Serum Institute Rs 3,000 crore advance for orders to facilitate capacity expansion. “We have just done this right now to address the ridiculous shortage that the nation, and obviously now the world even, has,” he said.

India is going through a devastating second wave with cases crossing 400,000 for the first time on Friday.

Serum Institute, the world’s largest vaccine maker, manufactures the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine that is locally distributed under the brand name Covishield. The central government has so far bought its entire production, but beginning this month SII can sell to states and private hospitals too.

The government has opened vaccination to everyone over 18 years of age beginning May 1, but vaccine shortages marked the start of the expanded coverage.

Only 1.83 million inoculations happened on May 1, one of the lowest in many days as several states and private hospitals did not get enough vaccines.

India has so far given at least one jab to 157 million people, about 12% of the population. Over 2% of the population has received two jabs.

Poonawalla also said while politicians and critics have blamed the SII for the vaccine shortage, the vaccine policy was framed by the government.

India’s vaccination began on January 16. The government had initially ordered 21 million vaccines from SII.

An additional 110 million doses were ordered in March when cases began to rise.

The company has also been criticised for charging higher price to states and private hospitals for the expanded vaccination drive. Serum had subsequently lowered the price to be paid by state governments from Rs 400 to Rs 300.

“I’ve been victimised very unfairly and wrongly,” he said.

‘Production in Full Swing’
Poonawalla is currently in London where earlier this week he had told the Times of London that he had faced threat from politicians and business leaders who wanted vaccines. “Covishield’s production is in full swing in Pune. I look forward to reviewing operations upon my return in a few days,” Poonawalla tweeted on Saturday.

Overseas governments have sued Serum for failing to deliver contracted vaccines after India put a hold on vaccine exports in March.

Poonawalla told the Financial Times that the company had started refunding governments that had placed advance orders. “But I think if we don’t see a major shift in two, three months then I think we’re going to have some trouble,” he added.