India / General public will have to pay ₹500-600 for Oxford vaccine: Adar Poonawalla

New Delhi: The second session of the 18th edition of the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit (HTLS) will see Adar Poonawalla, the CEO owner of Serum Institute of India, which is manufacturing the Oxford University Covid-19 vaccine, speaking.

The first session began today with the session Covid-19; Where Do We Stand with Dr Randeep Guleria, the director of the premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences, and Dr Ashish K Jha, dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health.

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Live Updates from Adar Poonawalla's speech

1) The vaccine so far is proving to work very well, even in the elderly, the CEO of Serum Institute of India said.

2) “Only time will tell if these vaccines would protect us in long term", says Adar Poonawalla.

3) “Never did I, my team of scientists, dream that we would have such good vaccines developed so quickly," says Adar Poonawalla.

4) "We plan to make 100 million doses on a monthly basis, says Adar Poonawalla on coronavirus vaccine development plan.

5) Oxford vaccine will be priced at ₹500-600 for general public, the CEO of Serum Institute of India said.

6) On vaccine distribution for kids, Poonawalla said the good news is that we all know that it's not so bad and serious for the children.

7) "We haven't really signed and committed anything else beyond Bangladesh at the moment," Adar Poonawalla on any pre-orders by other countries for the Covid vaccine.

8) The SII is not entering into any agreement with other countries at this moment as India is the priority: Poonawalla on vaccine

9) "Initially, there might not be a choice for govts to pay these high prices... But eventually when there is enough supply and alternatives, you will see prices coming down drastically," the SII CEO on coronavirus vaccine.

10) On any significant side effects of the Oxford vaccine, Poonawalla said, "Oxford vaccine is safe. We have no real safety concerns now."

11) "300-400 million doses of Oxford vaccine to be available by first quarter of 2021," says the Serum CEO.

12) On scaling up production, Poonawalla said that all Indian, Chinese or other manufacturers wills scale up production as the demand is growing and new players are coming in.

13) The Serum Institute of India CEO that it will be 2024, till everybody, if willing to take a two dose vaccine, will get vaccinated and protected.

14) On how long the immunity might last, Adar Poonawalla said, "Only time will tell... We will have to wait 6 more months at least to comment."

15) For enhanced distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine, Poonawalla said, "As many private players will have to be brought in to partner with the government for enhanced distribution of the vaccine...we see more of that happening."