Vaccine manufacturers hail PM's leadership in achieving milestone

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday interacted with COVID vaccine producers in New Delhi. The discussions focused on the experience of vaccine producers and how to take the vaccine research forward. In his address the Prime Minister exhorted that the country needs to institutionalise the best practises learnt during the last one and a half years, and said that this is an opportunity to modify our practises, in tune with the global standards. He said that the entire world is looking up to India, in the backdrop of the success of the vaccination drive. He also said that the vaccine manufacturers should continuously work together to be ready to face future challenges.

The domestic vaccine manufacturers appreciated the vision and dynamic leadership of the Prime Minister in providing continuous guidance and support towards the development of the vaccines. They also praised the never before seen collaboration between government and industry, and applauded the regulatory reforms, simplified procedures, timely approvals, and forthcoming and supportive nature of the government throughout this endeavour. They noted that had the country been following old norms, there would have been considerable delay and we would not have been able to reach the vaccination level that we have attained till now.  Adar Poonawala praised the regulatory reforms brought out by the government.

Dr. Krishna Ella thanked the Prime Minister for having taken Covaxin, and for the continuous support and motivation during its development. Mr. Pankaj Patel thanked the Prime Minister for talking about the DNA based vaccine in the UN General Assembly. Ms. Mahima Datla commended the vision of the Prime Minister which helped the country attain the vaccination milestone. Dr. Sanjay Singh talked about the importance of innovation and backward integration in the field of vaccine development. Satish Reddy appreciated the collaboration between government and industry throughout this endeavour. Dr. Rajesh Jain praised the continuous communication by the government throughout the pandemic.

The meeting happened in the backdrop of India administering over 100 crore vaccine doses.Representatives from seven vaccine makers - Serum Institute of India, Bharat Biotech, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Zydus Cadila, Biological E, Gennova Biopharma and Panacea Biotech - attended the meeting with PM Modi.Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Union Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar were present in the meeting as well.

More than 75 per cent of India's adult population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, with nine states and union territories administering the first dose to all eligible people. Over 31 per cent of the country's around 93 crore adults have been administered both the doses, So far, all adult population in nine states and union territories - Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Dadra and Nagar Haveli - have received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine.