With vaccine shortage being reported from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and a few others, Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), has said the production of Covid-19 vaccines in the country has been hit because the United States and European countries have banned export of critical raw material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an interview to a TV channel, Poonawalla said SII is struggling due to such an embargo in the US. He said India needs those materials now, not six months or a year later. The SII is not looking to import raw material from China given quality issues and other supply constraints, Poonawalla said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked about SII’s strategy to meet commitments in terms of the supply of Covishield, the University of Oxford’s Covid-19 vaccine, Poonawalla said SII is prioritizing India’s needs. He said if they get critical raw materials by late April onwards, it will impact capacity and would be only able to produce half of what they can. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even as the Centre continues to claim that there is no shortage of vaccines, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh have spoken up about the shortages and have asked the Centre to help them. Nationalist Congress Party leader Supriya Sule said over 100 vaccination centres remained shut in Maharashtra’s Pune due to the vaccine shortage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some private hospitals in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad, near Delhi, are facing a crisis. Reports said a few private hospitals have not been carrying out vaccinations since Monday. The situation in Delhi is also worrisome since the new cases are multiplying beyond the expectation of health ministry mandarins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n