Adar Poonawalla thanks PM Narendra Modi, FM Sitharaman for 'decisive policy changes, swift financial aid'

File image: Adar Poonawalla, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Serum Institute of India (SII) at his office in Pune (Image: Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas)

Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla on April 20 thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for 'decisive policy changes and swift financial aid' that he said will help COVID-19 vaccine production and distribution in India.

"On behalf of the vaccine industry in India, I would like to thank and applaud Shri @narendramodi Ji, @nsitharaman Ji, for your decisive policy changes and swift financial aid which will help vaccine production and distribution in India," Poonawalla said in a tweet.

His tweet came a day after the Centre approved an advance of around Rs 3,000 crore to the Serum Institute and around Rs 1,500 crore to Bharat Biotech. SII manufactures the Covishield COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca. Bharat Biotech has developed and manufactures Covaxin. These are two of the three jabs that have been authorised for emergency use in India.

The tweet also came on a day when PM Modi is expected to hold a virtual meeting with vaccine manufacturers.

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“The government is not in the practice of giving grants to profit companies. There was a proposal that they should be given an advance payment for vaccines that they will be supplying over the next two-three months,” a top government official told Moneycontrol earlier. In doing so, the Centre has relaxed its own general financial rules.

Earlier this month, Poonawalla had stressed that his company would require around Rs 3,000 crore to ramp up production capacity for making vaccines doses against the novel coronavirus.

Meanwhile, the central government on April 19 also allowed all citizens over the age of 18 years to get the COVID-19 vaccines from May 1, as it sought to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Also read - COVID-19 vaccination | All above 18 years eligible from May 1: Here's how to register

The government also liberalised the vaccination drive to allow states, private hospitals and industrial establishments to procure doses directly from manufacturers.

However, manufacturers would have to transparently make an advance declaration of the price for 50 percent supply that would be available to state governments and in the open market, before May 1.

Also Read | COVID-19 vaccine for all adults from May 1: All your key questions answered

PM Modi launched the nationwide vaccination drive on January 16, with healthcare workers at the frontline of India's COVID-19 battle getting their first jabs. The country began the second phase of the vaccination drive from March 1 in which everyone above 60 years of age and those over 45 years with comorbidities could start getting the vaccine. From April 1, vaccination was extended to everyone above the age of 45 with or without comorbidities.

As of April 19, more than 12.71 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered across the country. As many as 32.76 lakh COVID-19 vaccine shots were given on April 19 alone, according to the Union Health Ministry's latest provisional report.

India's total COVID-19 tally stood at 1.53 crore on April 20, with more than 2.59 lakh new infections being reported in the previous 24 hours. The number of active cases had surpassed the 20-lakh mark.

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