New Delhi, Sep 26 (UNI) Serum Institute of India chief executive officer (CEO) Adar Poonawala believes the Central Government will need Rs 80,000 crore for the purchase and free distribution of the corona vaccine by next year.
Mr Poonawala tweeted on Saturday asking "Quick question; will the government of India have Rs 80,000 crores available, over the next one year? Because that's what the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare needs, to buy and distribute the vaccine to everyone in India. This is the next concerning challenge we need to tackle."
He said "I ask this question, because we need to plan and guide, vaccine manufacturers both in India and overseas to service the needs of our country in terms of procurement and distribution."
Significantly, the Pune-based Serum Institute is testing the second and third phase in India for the Corona vaccine developed by Oxford University in the UK and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. The test was suspended for some time after a volunteer's health deteriorated in the UK.
The third phase of testing for the vaccine developed by Serum Institute Novavax is about to start from October. The company will also make one billion doses of this vaccine. The Serum Institute is also developing its own Corona vaccine, which is in the pre-clinical phase.
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