“All Risks Have Finally Paid Off”: Adar Poonawalla On Vaccine Approval For ‘Covishield’

The tweet came shortly after the country’s drug regulator cleared its Covishield vaccine for emergency approval in India.

Adar Poonawalla, the chief executive of the Pune-based vaccine manufacturer, said all the risks taken by Serum Institute have finally paid off. The tweet came shortly after the country’s drug regulator cleared its Covishield vaccine for emergency approval in India. Reiterating that “Covishield” vaccine — developed by Serum Institute of India in partnership with the Oxford University and pharma major AstraZeneca – is “safe and effective” against coronavirus, Mr Poonawalla said that the vaccine “is ready to roll out in the coming weeks”.

“Happy new year, everyone! All the risks @SerumInstIndia took with stockpiling the vaccine, have finally paid off. COVISHIELD, India’s first COVID-19 vaccine is approved, safe, effective and ready to roll-out in the coming weeks,” Mr Poonawalla tweeted.

Earlier on Sunday, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) announced in a press conference that the regulator has approved two vaccine candidates- Oxford-AstraZeneca’s vaccine, which is being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII) as Covishield for emergency use and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for restricted use.

With DCGI’s nod, India joins a handful of countries, including the US and UK, that have begun vaccinations.

Other than Covishield and Covaxin, two other vaccines are waiting to be approved – Zydus Cadila’s ZyCoV-D and Russia’s Sputnik V that are both on trial in India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, minutes after the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) announced the approval of two vaccine candidates, said it would make every Indian proud that the two were “made in India”.

“It would make every Indian proud that the two vaccines that have been given emergency use approval are made in India! This shows the eagerness of our scientific community to fulfil the dream of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat, at the root of which is care and compassion,” the Prime Minister tweeted.

Prime Minister Modi, while applauding frontline workers, said: “We reiterate our gratitude to doctors, medical staff, scientists, police personnel, sanitation workers and all Corona warriors for the outstanding work done, that too in adverse circumstances. We will remain eternally grateful to them for saving many lives.”

He called the development a “decisive turning point”, “accelerating the road” to a healthier and Covid-free nation.