Committed to supply 50 crore vaccine doses to Centre: Bharat Biotech

The company had supplied about four billion doses to about 125 countries and will continue to ramp up production at its four plants in the country, said Suchitra Ella, co-founder of Bharat Biotech

Hyderabad: Bharat Biotech, the makers of Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin, was committed to supply over 50 crore doses of its vaccine to the Centre for the countrywide immunisation programme, Suchitra Ella, co-founder and joint managing director, Bharat Biotech, said on Friday.

Stating that the company had vaccine manufacturing facilities in four cities – Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune and Ankaleshwar – she said it had supplied about four billion doses to about 125 countries and will continue to ramp up production at its four plants in the country.

Data of Phase 3 trials has been submitted to the Drug Controller General of India for its perusal and the efficacy of the vaccine against many of the coronavirus variants was also tested. When it comes to vaccines not only for Covid-19, India, when compared to some other countries, has more capacity to produce vaccines in large numbers.

Speaking on `Covidonomics Conclave’, organised by industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (Southern Region), she said the two waves of Covid had affected millions, taxed the healthcare system and pushed the Indian economy into a slowdown.

The entire country needs to be vaccinated and it should at least reach 70 per cent to ensure that further waves are minimised, Suchitra said, adding that Covid-appropriate behaviour of wearing mask, washing hands frequently and maintaining physical distancing are needed even after getting the vaccine shots.

Pointing out that the national and localised lockdowns had resulted in loss of employment to many, she said focus should be on increasing investments as well as productivity and on research and development in the life sciences segment. The past economic models and examples may or may not work to revive the sagging economy due to the huge impact of Covid, she said.

Bharat Biotech, in operation for 25 years now, has been part of many vaccine programmes. It is working with ICMR and National Institute of Virology. Multiple agencies and platforms are involved in Covid vaccine development and the company has been sharing data with the concerned authorities, she said.

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