Government picks three firms to manufacture Covaxin; expects 60 million doses a month by August
The government expects the current Covaxin production capacity to be doubled by May or June and then increased by nearly 6-7 times by August.
FollowTo address the shortage of Covid-19 vaccines in the country, the Union government has disbursed financial assistance of Rs 30 crore to Public Sector Undertaking Bharat Immunologicals and Biologicals Corporation Limited's Bulandshahr plant to augment the production of Covaxin.
The PSU plant will manufacture over two crore jabs of the indigenous vaccine every month by the end of August. Established over three decades ago, BIBCOL manufactures oral polio vaccines and other immunisers.
Two more public sectors companies have been roped in to ramp up vaccine production capacity.
Mumbai-based Public Sector Enterprise Haffkine Biopharmaceutical Corporation Limited will be granted approx Rs 65 crore to expedite vaccine production. Once operational, the facility will have a capacity of 20 million doses per month.
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Hyderabad-based Indian Immunologicals Limited under the National Dairy Development Board has also been roped into manufacturing Covid-19 jabs.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, NITI Ayog member Dr VK Paul said Hyderabad-based pharma major Bharat Biotech has also welcomed Centre's efforts to provide all assistance to companies that want to produce Covaxin.
Dr Paul, however, underlined the challenge in this process.
"Under this, a live virus is inactivated, and this happens only in the BSL3 (Biosafety Laboratory-3) laboratory, which is very sophisticated. Such laboratories are mostly not there in other companies. It is not something that every company has. Those companies who want to do this, we give an open invitation, and we have already reached out from our side to make it together," he said.
The government expects the current Covaxin production capacity to be doubled by May or June and then increased by nearly 6-7 times by August. Currently, one crore Covaxin doses are being manufactured per month. That may go up to 60-70 crore vaccine doses every month by August after Bharat Biotech's new Bengaluru facility, Indian Immunologicals and BIBCOL start production.
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