India has given order for almost 10 million more doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine from the Serum Institute of India (SII). It has also ordered approximately 4.5 million more of a homegrown vaccine from Bharat Biotech, as per the company’s representatives stated.

The two vaccine shots are used for India’s worlds biggest immunisation programme for covering 300 million people by August, which has started with healthcare and other workers and then reach the elderly people and individuals with existing conditions by March.

SII is the worlds biggest vaccine maker and had till date supplied 11 million doses for the immunization campaign. It has covered 6.3 million front-line workers as it had begun on 16th January. An SII spokesman said that the second order was already in place for 10 million doses and the company has agreed to sell it to the government for 200 rupees each.

Bharat Biotech has developed its vaccine with the state-run Indian Council of Medical Research, has also supplied 5.5 million doses. Indias drug regulator has stated that SIIs Covishield vaccine is around 72% effective, whereas Bharat Biotech says Covaxin is in the last-stage trial and results are expected by March. The regulator is also expected to approve Russias Sputnik V and Cadila Healthcares ZyCov-D vaccines in the following few months.

Indias infections have risen to 9,110 in the last 24 hours and reached 10.85 million, the worlds highest count after the United States, even though they have dropped sharply from a mid-September peak of approximately 100,000.

The health ministry stated that a daily count of under 100 deaths in the last four days have taken the total to above 155,000.

Source: ET Healthworld