The Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine producer, stopped manufacturing the AstraZeneca vaccine against covid-19 due to the drop in demand.
“We stopped production in December. I have even offered to donate them to whoever wants to take them”stated the head of the company, Adar Poonawalla, at an economic forum organized by the group Times Network media.
The businessman admitted that he does not know “what to do with the product” and assured that they have “200 million doses in reserve”.
The Serum Institute has produced more than 1 billion doses of Covishield (its version of the AstraZeneca vaccine) and is the largest supplier of the Covax global program for the poorest countries.
This situation contrasts with what happened a year ago when India, known as the world’s pharmacy, had to restrict its exports to combat a terrifying wave of infections in its territory.