Cyrus Poonawalla Says Booster Shot Of Covishield Is Must, Claims Modi Govt Didn’t Allow More Vaccine Supply To Pune

Pune, 13th August 2021: Cyrus Poonawalla, chairman of the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) which produces the corona vaccine Covishield, has appealed to those taking Covishield to take the third dose. Studies have shown that the effect of the vaccine decreases six months after taking the first two doses. That is why the third dose needs to be taken, said Poonawalla.

He was speaking to the media after getting this year’s Lokmanya Tilak National Award by the Lokmanya Tilak Smarak Trust today at Pune in the presence of former Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and Dr Deepak Tilak, President of Tilak Samrak Mandir.

Speaking about the effects of Covishield, Poonawalla said that he himself has taken the third dose. He also stated that he had given the third dose to 7,000-8,000 workers of the company.

“After six months, the effect of the vaccine seems to be diminishing. After vaccination, the memory cell stays in the body permanently but the effect of the vaccine decreases. I took the third dose myself. We have also given the third dose to the 7,000-8,000 workers in SII”, said Poonawalla.

Speaking further, he also appealed to those taking the second dose of Covishield to take the third dose. “I urge those who have been vaccinated with Covishield for six months to take the third dose,” Poonawalla said.

‘I am not here to make money’

Those who died during the Corona period did not receive timely treatment or money. Fearing God’s wrath, some refused treatment due to which they died. But treatment as soon as the symptoms appear will help to recover faster. I don’t want to make money from people’s suffering. I don’t sit down and make money selling vaccines. But people should get vaccinated, he said.

‘No lockdown’

While the state government has relaxed the restrictions on corona lockdown, Poonawalla has also stated that he does not want lockdown again. He said that the lockdown should be carried out at a time when the death rate is high due to COVID19.

The government encouraged

‘Want to supply more vaccines in Pune but Modi government…..’

Poonawalla also said that the Modi government is responsible for the fact that we immediately got all kinds of permissions to make the corona vaccine. Earlier bureaucrats used to harass a lot while giving any permits. The journey of Serum Institute to date has been very arduous and painful. But now the situation has changed. We have also received incentives from the government. Covishield is the cheapest vaccine in the world. We are giving this vaccine at a very reasonable price.

When asked about why more vaccines were not given to Pune as SII is based here, Poonawalla said that the Modi government is responsible for it. “We had asked the Modi government to allow us to supply more vaccines to Pune as the COVID cases were very high but the Modi government did not respond to our request”, Poonawalla informed.

‘Modi government wrong in restricting vaccine export’

Talking about the restrictions on the export of the vaccine, Poonawalla said that the central government must allow exporting the vaccine as many of the countries are completely dependent on the Serum Institute of India for the vaccine.

When asked about his opinion of restrictions on vaccine export he said, “That is the worst thing the Modi government has done. My son (Adar Poonawalla) had asked me to not speak on it but my view is that the export must be allowed because around 150 to 170 countries of the world have been taking vaccines from us for years. Now they say when they are in extreme need we have stopped giving them vaccines. Those countries have given us crores of rupees in advance. We have even offered to return their money but they have said they will take vaccines from us once the Government of India allows us to export it to them.”

“My son took the initiative of manufacturing 100 million doses in advance or more at risk because if the vaccine was not approved we would have had to write off a few hundred million dollars of machinery equipment and whatever else it took to stockpile the vaccine before release. This immensely helped us. As of today, 550 million doses of vaccine are mostly in India. We are not allowed to export vaccines though”, he added.

‘Mixing of two vaccines is a risky decision and a waste of time’

Mixing up two different vaccines for COVID19 is a very risky decision and it is a waste of time, said Poonawalla.

“I am against the mixing of vaccines. If mixing is done and results are not good then vaccine manufacturers will blame each other for results. First of all the vaccine authority will never give full approval because it’s a very risky decision and it’s a waste of time. When one vaccine is working why should we mix it up unless we are under the cause of complications? We should completely discourage this”, he said.

Poonawala criticizes Modi government for extending gap between Covishield doses

He said, “Normally the second dose must be taken between two to three months period and when the product is not available the Modi government found a solution that the second dose must be given after three months. Two months would be right, one month gap is also wrong. There should be a two month gap only between both the doses.”

He later clarified, “For those who have been administered the first dose of a particular vaccine and incase of the unavailability of the second dose of the same – as an alternative, another vaccine can be administered. That said, the efficacy and the immunogenicity of the combination are dependent on the ongoing studies conducted by regulators.”

‘Cost of vaccine less than cup of tea…..’

“Most of the vaccines that we make… are sold to the WHO and Government of India, other countries in Africa for less than the price of a cup of tea sold in restaurants here….”, Poonawalla informed.

He added, “Even though I am a billionaire now the wealth could have been at least 10 to 15 billion dollars more had I not got tempted to the whole price line because all other vaccines sold by us in all different countries is twice or thrice the price of what we are giving to the world. So this is a major sacrifice that my family and in a way Serum Institute is making to save human lives. Therefore I hope that this temptation to amaze further wealth…I will be able to resist and I hope my son Adar Poonawalla try to keep the price line affordable as today Covishield vaccine is the cheapest vaccine in the world. We have kept the price of two dollars a dose, whereas we have been offered 20 dollars a dose by many countries because they need the vaccine.”

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