Microsoft founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates on Tuesday, September 15, said India is likely to play a key role in the manufacturing of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Bill Gates also said that the world is looking forward to India as it a leading vaccine producer on a global scale.
"India is a leading vaccine producer; we need cooperation from India on manufacturing Covid-19 vaccine. The world is looking at India for some of that capacity to be available to developing countries," Bill Gates told news agency PTI.
"All of us want to get a vaccine out in India as fast as we can, once we know that it's very effective and very safe," Gates added.
Bill Gates also hopes that the Covid vaccine will be rolled out from India next year. "It's very likely that roll-out of Covid-19 vaccine will take place in fairly big volume (in India) sometime next year. I'm quite optimistic that by first quarter of next year, several of Covid-19 vaccines will have final stage," said Gates.
India's will to play big role in manufacturing vaccines
"India's willingness to play big role in manufacturing vaccines, send some of these to developing countries will be critical," he added.
Currently, India has three Covid-19 vaccine candidates undergoing clinical trials, including the Oxford vaccine that is being manufactured along with AstraZeneca. Also, the Serum Institute of India (SII) is conducting the trials in the country in different cities and will also be producing the Covid vaccine in large scale.
(With agency inputs)
