Pune-based Serum Institute of India’s CEO Adar Poonawalla has urged US President Joe Biden to lift the embargo on raw material exports that are required for the manufacturing of vaccines. Notably, the Serum Institute is manufacturing the jab ‘Covishield’ jointly developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. Notably, Covishield is one of the most...

The Union government has asked the state governments to increase the gap between two doses of Covishield—the jab developed against COVID-19 jointly by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford and is being manufactured locally by Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII). While the government had earlier recommended a gap of at least 28 days, it...

With the vaccine jointly developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford providing minimal protection against the mutant variant of COVID-19 dominant in South Africa, the country has asked the Serum Institute of India (SII) to take back one million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine supplied by it. Earlier this week, South Africa also said...

A massive fire broke out at around 2.45 pm at a plant owned by the Serum Institute of India (SII) in Pune’s Manjri area. Apart from 10 fire engines, a team of the National Disaster Response Force is at the site to douse the flames. The unfortunate incident took place at an under-construction building at...

The Union government on Tuesday warned that people who get vaccinated in the phase 1 of the COVID-19 vaccination programme should not dump the safety protocols that they have been following until now. The health ministry said that even those who get vaccinated should wear masks, maintain physical distance and regularly wash hands to contain...

With pan India vaccination for COVID-19 all set to begin from January 16, the first batch of Serum Institute of India’s ‘Covishield’ left Pune for 13 cities including Ahmedabad. The first batch of the vaccine has been already received by Gujarat. Health minister Nitin Patel was present at the Ahmedabad airport to receive the stock....

The Centre has asked the states and Union Territories to get ready to receive the first consignments of the COVID-19 vaccine. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in a communique to the states, said that the vaccine will be supplied to the identified consignee points of 19 states and Union Territories by the supplier....

At a time when the majority of the countries in the world are yet to approve a vaccine for COVID-19, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has given its nod to the jab developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. The development essentially means that low-income countries may soon get access to the ‘costly’ vaccine that is already...

A committee of the Indian regulator that is scrutinising the emergency use applications of COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers will reassemble on January 1 for deliberations on the issue. The committee had earlier met on Wednesday to consider the applications made by Serum Institute of India for the AstraZeneca and Oxford University vaccine, and another vaccine of...

The UK on Wednesday approved the COVID-19 vaccine jointly developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University for emergency use. The approval came after the vaccine was cleared by the country’s regulator. Notably, Britain has ordered 100 million doses of the AstraZeneca jab. Following the development, it became the first country in the world to approve the...

India is likely to grant emergency use authorisation for the vaccine jointly developed by AstraZeneca and University of Oxford by next week, media reports suggest. The vaccine that was recently in controversy over efficacy data is being manufactured by Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII). If granted emergency use permission, India could be the first...

Serum Institute of India (SII) chief Adar Poonawalla has requested the Union government to indemnify it against litigations related to their vaccines, especially during a pandemic. He said vaccine manufacturers need to have protections against lawsuits and that they are going to propose the same to the government. Poonawalla said this while speaking at a...