In order to meet the growing demand for vaccines to battle the fast spread of the Covid-19 infection in India and abroad, the vaccine maker Serum Institute of India (SII) has geared up to raise the output of COVISHIELD vaccines by 67 per cent to 100 million doses a month from May.

According to Adar Poonawalla, the Chief executive of SSI, 'The Serum Institute would boost manufacturing from May,'. The SII has set a target to increase the output from 60 million doses to 100 million per month. Currently, the SII manufactures COVISHIELD, the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford.

Meanwhile, India opened up its coronavirus vaccination programme to people above 45 on Thursday as infections surge, which will delay vaccine exports from the world’s biggest maker of the drug.

The country, with the most number of reported COVID-19 cases after the United States and Brazil, has so far injected 64 million doses and exported nearly as many. This has raised criticism at home as India’s per-capita vaccination figure is much lower than many countries.

India initially focused on front-like workers, the elderly and those suffering from other health conditions, unlike some richer countries that have made all their adults eligible to get inoculated.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan tweeted that there would be no vaccine shortage in the country as it opens up the vaccination programme. “Centre to continually replenish states’ supplies,” he said on Twitter. “Avoid overstocking and understocking.”

125 corona cases stirred up in Varanasi simultaneously, CMO explained reason

Andhra Pradesh : Recorded highest coronavirus cases, total reach above 9 lakhs

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams reduced darshan token, follows all covid protocol