New Delhi: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech at the United Nations General Assembly, the CEO of Serum Institute of India Adar Poonawalla on Sunday (September 27, 2020) said it was clear that the Prime Minister has made 'arrangements' for Indian citizens which will take care of all the needs of the people.
Applauding the PM Modi’s vision on providing vaccines to the global community, Poonawalla said it was a proud moment for India.
Taking to microblogging site Twitter he wrote: "We share and applaud your vision @narendramodi ji, on providing vaccines to the global community. It is a proud moment for India, thank you for your leadership and support. It is clear that all your arrangements for India will take care of all needs for the Indian people.”
We share and applaud your vision @narendramodi ji, on providing vaccines to the global community. It is a proud moment for India, thank you for your leadership and support. It is clear that all your arrangements for India will take care of all needs for the Indian people. https://t.co/b57TH8fDSB
— Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) September 27, 2020
Earlier on Saturday, the 39-year-old, in another tweet, had asked the Centre if they had Rs 80,000 crores available over the next one year for the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines across India.
He had written, "Quick question; will the government of India have 80,000 crores available, over the next one year? Because that's what Ministry of Health needs, to buy and distribute the vaccine to everyone in India. This is the next concerning the challenge we need to tackle."
While in an interview, Adar Poonawalla had expressed that the availability of the vaccine for even 90% of all the people on the planet will not be possible before 2024. "Realistically, for the whole world, for everyone on this planet, or at least 90% to get it, it’s going to be at least 2024," he had said.
The Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) is the world's largest vaccine manufacturer company has the licence to produce and market two of the leading vaccine candidates, one developed by AstraZeneca and the Oxford University, and the other one by US company Novavax.
The Oxford University vaccine, named Covishield in India, is currently undergoing phase-II and phase-III trials in the country. Earlier, the institute had announced that it will make the Oxford vaccine available at $3 for low-and-middle-income countries including India.
