New Delhi, 11/1 (AO Bureau):The Serum Institute of India has been ordered by the Government of India for the purchase Coronavirus Vaccine. Official sources of the Serum Institute gave this information on Monday. India’s drug regulator has already approved the limited emergency use of the Covishield vaccine produced by the Serum Institute. The vaccination campaign is going to start in India on January 16. Covishield has been developed jointly by Oxford University in Britain and the British-Swedish company AstraZeneca. This is the first vaccine for which a scientific study has been published on the Phase III clinical trials.
Kovishield has so far received emergency access approvals in Britain, Argentina, Mexico, and India. Scientists have researched the model of adenovirus that infects chimpanzees to develop this vaccine. Kovishield is being built by the Serum Institute of India (SII). One injection or dose of it will be sold in the market for Rs. 1,000, but the Government of India is costing only Rs. 200. This information was given by SII Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Adar Poonawala.
The AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine will have relatively little need for cold storage because it can be kept at a normal refrigerator temperature (two to eight degrees Celsius) for at least six months and moved from one place to another.