An optimistic report emerged saying that the COVISHIELD vaccine will be available in 73 days. The vaccine will be manufactured by Serum Institute of India in partnership with Oxford University-AstraZeneca. However, the Serum Institute of India has denied all such claims.
The COVISHIELD vaccine which is currently undergoing trials, is one of India's hope against the widespread virus. A report claimed that the vaccine will be commercialised soon and will be available in 73 days.
COVISHIELD still under trial
The report which raised expectations claimed that a top official at the SII had revealed the news. However, the SII has sharply denied such claims in a statement released on social media.
COVISHIELD is one of the vaccine candidates developed by Oxford University-AstraZeneca that created an uproar across the world. The vaccine is still under development and is in the third phase of trials currently.
SII has been given permission from the centre to manufacture it and stockpile it for future use in India by the central government. The world has been waiting for the vaccine, alas this wait will be longer than 73 days. According to a report in the media, the vaccine production was reportedly 'fast-tracked' by the government and trials would be completed in 58 days.
SII in its statement said:
Serum Institute of India, would like to clarify that the current claims surrounding COVISHIELD's availability in the media are completely false and conjectural.
Presently, the government has granted us permission to only manufacture the vaccine and stockpile it for future use.
COVISHIELD will be commercialised once the trials are proven successful and all the requisite regulatory approvals are in place.
The phase-3 trials for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, are still underway. And only once the vaccine is proven immunogenic and efficacious, SII will confirm its availability, officially."- SII on Facebook
SII has also entered into a partnership with Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to ensure the manufacture and delivery of up to 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines for India and many low- and middle-income countries as early as 2021 it had announced earlier in August.
