Serum Institute of India (SII) chief Adar Poonawalla spoke briefly on global health, how can we stockpile vaccines and what needs to be done.
On being questioned about the vaccine status, he said that in January, they were at 50 million vaccine doses, and now they are at 90 million and will add a further 10%. This is happening at world record speed. Eventually one will see a lot of vaccines going to other parts of the world so that there is equitable distribution. That is where they want to be. The ramp-up of vaccines is going very well.
When he was asked about the situation with regards to vaccination, the shortage and supply, he said there was initially politics around vaccines, there was a shortage, everyone was interested to know who has vaccines, who does not have, who was responsible, even in Europe was the same scene, everyone wanted to find someone to blame, he said. After everyone realised that there is going to be a shortage of vaccines, with regards to a temperature that is required to keep the vaccine effectiveness and other factors, now everyone public at large understands it, now everyone is calmer, added Poonawalla.
He also spoke on the waiver of IP issue. Currently, many wealthy countries have been hoarding vaccines doing injustice to lower-income countries, in terms of the distribution of vaccines. He is of the opinion that waiving IP perhaps will not solve the immediate shortage of vaccines but for the long term, it can be a good strategy. “A blanket waiver of IP is not really going to help; it’s about an innovator teaching a manufacturer. Transfer of tech is challenging & time-consuming. But for future pandemics, it can be a good platform to work on", he added.
He threw light on the vaccine been excluded from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) list of approved vaccines for the European Union (EU) Green Pass. It happened so that people who have been vaccinated with Covishield, faced some issues while travelling to any of the EU countries. “Our product is identical to AstraZeneca, so it’s a matter of time the EMA will certify. There is no controversy to worry about. But the issue of vaccine passports is much wider. We do need a visa-like system".
A vaccine passport is either digital or a paper document that indicates whether individuals have received a Covid-19 vaccination or not. This vaccine passport will allow people to travel more freely within their communities, they will have access to the activities that have largely been closed off during the pandemic.
When he was asked about the preparedness with regards to pandemic, he said, “To be prepared for future pandemics is the way to do it is a collaborative approach between countries, regulators and WHO. We will have many doses coming out of India by the end of this year. We just hope everyone can be patient and take precautions in the meantime" said Poonawalla at IGF 2021.
He also said that countries should stockpile the vaccines as it will help in the long run. He added that we should be prepared for the future pandemic as we might face difficulties in producing vaccines.
