Covovax Likely to Be Launched By October: Adar Poonawalla After Meeting Shah

File photo of Home Minister Amit Shah with SII CEO Adar Poonawalla.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@adarpoonawalla)

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Serum Institute of India (SII) Adar Poonawalla met Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday, 6 August, and said that he was hopeful that another COVID-19 vaccine – Covovax – would be launched in October, reported news agency PTI.

He also added that the vaccine for children is likely to be available in the first quarter of 2022, contingent upon the approvals from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).

Covovax is a two-dose vaccine, which is being produced by SII under a manufacturing agreement with US-based Novavax.

Thanking the government for its support, Poonawalla added that the company was not facing any financial crunch and was continuously trying to increase production capacity of Covishield to meet the demand.

He said that at present the company was producing 130 million doses per month.

An expert panel had earlier recommended giving permission to SII for conducting phase two and three trials on children aged 2 to 17 for Covovax.

At present, everyone above the age of 18 is being vaccinated in the country and reportedly SII had submitted a revised application to include a paediatric cohort in the ongoing trials.

Earlier on Friday, Poonawalla also met Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.

"I appreciated their role in mitigating #COVID19 & assured continued Government support in ramping up vaccine production," the minister had tweeted.