Serum Institute to keep 200 mn vax doses ready by Jan

New Delhi: Pune's Serum Institute of India will have 200 million doses of the Astra Zeneca-Oxford University vaccine for the coronavirus ready by January, ramping up its capacity to make 100 million doses of the inoculation monthly.

Sources said the company has recruited over 1,600 participants in India for phase 3 trials of Covishield (the AstraZeneca vaccine candidate).

All participants have received the first shot of the vaccine and by the end of November, the second shot would be completed. Data analysis would begin after the second shot, sources said. "SII has started stockpiling the vaccine and now has roughly 40 million doses ready. It is using some of the capacities it had for under development products for the COVID-19 vaccine and by January we will have a capacity to make 100 million doses per month and a stockpile of 200 million doses," said a source.About 50 per cent of its capacity will be for India, it said.