Vaccination against the coronavirus continues in India. Meanwhile, the UK government has told that one crore doses of Corona vaccine ‘Covishield’ (Covishield) manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII), made in India, will be sent to the UK.
Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, is mass producing the AstraZeneca vaccine Covishield, developed with Oxford University, for dozens of poor and middle-income countries.
“The UK has ordered 100 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, of which 10 million doses will come from the Serum Institute of India,” a UK government spokesperson told Reuters. The UK government said the agreement follows assurances from the SII that providing doses to the UK would not impact its commitment to provide vaccines to poorer countries.
It is also providing supplements for the COVAX program supported by the World Health Organization and the GAVI Vaccine Alliance. The UK government said the agreement follows SII’s assurance that providing supplements to the UK would not affect its commitment to provide vaccines to poor countries.
This step is proving that rich western countries are buying vaccine supplements at the cost of poor countries. SII’s AstraZeneca vaccine, a group of low- and middle-income countries from Bangladesh to Brazil, relies on the branded COVISHIELD, but its demand from Western countries is increasing.
