India’s coronavirus vaccine production lines, which manufacture at least 16 crore doses a month, will halt within weeks if the United Stat...
India’s coronavirus vaccine production lines, which manufacture at least 16 crore doses a month, will halt within weeks if the United States does not provide 37 crucial items, according to The Economist.
The US had in February invoked the Defence Production Act, which helped American pharmaceutical firms procure the material they needed to augment vaccine production. But under the act, the firms need permission to export raw materials. The US government can stop the companies from exporting them.
The export restrictions threaten to hinder vaccine production across the world at a time when coronavirus cases are surging. India is battling a severe second wave of the virus and struggling with shortages of vaccine and other critical equipment.
Last week, Adar Poonawalla, the chief executive officer of the Serum Institute of India, had requested US President Joe Biden to lift the embargo on the export of raw materials. These include plastic tubing and filters.
The Serum Institute, the world’s largest vaccine maker by volume, is currently producing Covishield, the Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University. The vaccine is being used in India, and has been supplied to several other countries.
The company produces 1 crore doses of the Covishield vaccine per month. It also plans to start manufacturing 60 to...
