At WEF Davos Agenda, Poonawalla declares support for global vaccine equity

Serum Institute of India's chief executive officer (CEO) Adar Poonawalla on Tuesday said that his company is ready to support global vaccine equity through programmes such as COVAX to ensure larger distribution of vaccines, especially to developing countries amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum's virtual Davos Agenda conference on the topic "Meeting the Challenge of Vaccine Equity," the CEO of the world's largest vaccine manufacturing company by doses stated, "...We are going to see a shift in the trends hopefully and probably supply a billion-plus doses in the first quarter or two combined though COVAX to the African continent."

Addressing the issue of vaccine inequality in the African continent, he said his company is ready to supply the vaccines.

"The African continent that we have supplied vaccines to and supported over the last many decades, we are ready to support you again. Please get in touch and address the vaccine inequality issue wherever you have it and here are the doses available for you," Poonawalla said.

He also said his company actually had to curtail vaccine production due to restrictions and he was elated when India removed the export restrictions last year.

He exuded confidence that the world is better placed today with regard to the unrestricted supply of vaccines and he is hopeful about contributing in a big way to tackling the vaccine inequality issue.

There is no silver bullet or magical solution, but if we can get all governments to come together for some agreements, including on export restrictions, that can help deal with such pandemics, Poonawalla said.

Besides, steps would be required to step up production capacities, vaccine developments, clinical trials to meet such challenges in the future, he added.

A harmonised regulatory framework would also be required, he said, as we saw during this pandemic people wanting to take one vaccine and not another.

Also Read: Vaccines must be central strategy to fight COVID-19: WHO official

The other speakers in the panel were Mike Ryan Executive Director of WHO Health Emergencies Programme; Gabriela Bucher, Executive Director Oxfam; Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, while Julia Chatterley of CNN moderated the panel.

Poonawalla's company has partnered with the developer of Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to locally produce and supply Covishield vaccine to the Indian government.

Covishield and the indigenously produced Bharat Biotech's Covaxin were the first two vaccines approved by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) in January last year, under emergency use authorization against the pandemic.

The WEF has been hosting its annual meeting in the Swiss ski resort town of Davos for 50 years, but it could not take place in 2021 due to the pandemic and has been deferred till early summer for this year as well.

However, an online 'Davos Agenda' summit is being held for the second consecutive year on the dates originally scheduled for the physical annual meeting.

The week-long digital summit began with a special address by Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday delivered the 'State of the World' special address via video conference.