Serum, Biotech bury hatchet with joint pledge for 'smooth' vaccine rollout

The Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech, the two vaccine-making companies who had sparred over their COVID-19 vaccines, today sought to bury the hatchet and pledged towards a “smooth” vaccine rollout in India and the world.

SII CEO Adar Poonawalla and Bharat Biotech chairman Dr. Krishna Ella issued a statement jointly on behalf of the two companies, in which they said the more important task in front of them is saving the lives and livelihoods of populations in India and the world.

They said vaccines are a global public health good and they have the power to save lives and accelerate the return to economic normalcy at the earliest.

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Stating that two COVID-19 vaccines have been issued EUA (emergency use authorisation) in India, they said the focus is now on manufacturing, supply and distribution, such that populations that need it the most receive high quality, safe and efficacious vaccines.

“Both our companies are fully engaged in this activity and consider it our duty to the nation and the world at large to ensure a smooth rollout of vaccines. Each of our companies continue their vaccines development activities as planned,” the statement further read.

“We are fully aware of the importance of vaccines for people and countries alike, we hereby communicate our joint pledge to provide global access for our COVID-19 vaccines,” said the two company heads.

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The statement sought to clarify that the two vaccine-makers are together in the country’s vaccine roll-out project after some misunderstandings between them had led to confusions between the two firm’s heads.

Mr. Poonawalla on Sunday said only three vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Oxford-AstraZeneca) had passed all scientific evaluations, but others too were “safe like water”, though their effectiveness had not yet been evaluated. Thereafter, Dr. Ella had said some companies were trying to brand him like water, and that his company conducts “200 per cent honest clinical trials but still receives backlash.”

It may be noted that SII-manufactured Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin were recently approved by India’s drug regulator for emergency use in the country, which indicates the imminent rollout of an inoculation drive.