The company was to have been COVAX's main supplier, but an
explosion of cases in India resulted in a cutoff of exports. At the time, Serum
Institute had contracts to provide COVAX with 200 million doses of AstraZeneca
vaccines, and unfinalized agreements to supply 350 million more. The suspension
was a significant setback for global efforts to distribute vaccines equitably.
GAVI, the vaccine alliance which co-manages the COVAX
program, said the company had provided just under 30 million doses to it.
New infections in India have now fallen to the lowest level
in months, and the first new exports under the COVAX program, destined for
Tajikistan, are leaving Friday evening, Serum Institute said in a statement. It
said it expects exports to increase substantially in early 2022.
It said it has already produced more than a billion doses of
the AstraZeneca vaccine under license, almost all for domestic use.
Serum Institute also started making the Novavax vaccine
under license in June. Experts say the vaccine — which has been greenlit by
regulators in Indonesia and the Philippines — is easier to store and transport
than some others, and this may allow it to play an important role in boosting
global vaccine supplies.
With the addition of the new vaccine, “We can be more
hopeful that WHO’s target to vaccine 70% of the world’s population by the
middle of the next year can be met,” Serum Institute chief executive Adar
Poonawalla said.
Although coronavirus restrictions have been lifted in India,
the country, like others, is jittery after the detection of a new, worrisome
variant in southern Africa. The federal government has asked states to scale up
screening of travelers from some countries and the genetic sequencing of any
detected infections.
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