Mumbai (Maharashtra): The chairman of the Covishield-maker, Serum Institute of India (SII), Dr Cyrus Poonawalla on Friday said that he was opposed to the idea of mixing Covid vaccines. There is no need to mix the doses, Poonawalla said, adding that if something goes wrong then there could be a blame game between the makers of the two vaccines.
He was speaking to reporters after receiving the prestigious Lokmanya Tilak Award.
Recently, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) revealed in its study that the combination of Covaxin and Covishield vaccines, the two main vaccines of the COVID-19 vaccination programme, conducted on 18 people, has elicited better safety and immunogenicity results. According to the study, immunization with a combination of an adenovirus vector platform-based vaccine followed by inactivated whole virus vaccine was not only safe but also elicited better immunogenicity.
Poonawalla also termed the ban on COVID-19 vaccine exports imposed by the Union government a very bad move, saying it put his company, the world's largest vaccine-maker, in a difficult situation.
He also said that his son Adar Poonawalla, the chief executive of the SII, had asked him not to speak about the issue. It is a very bad move by the Modi government. My son asked me not to open my mouth. But it is my view that exports ought to be opened, Poonawalla said here.
READ: Mix of Covid vaccines yields better results: ICMR study
Over 170 countries are dependent on the SII for vaccines and are blaming the company for stopping the supply during a crucial period, he said. These countries have paid crores in advance to the company, Cyrus Poonawalla said, adding that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and World Health Organisation (WHO) have also given it Rs 5,000 crore. He had offered to return the money to the Gates Foundation and WHO, he said but hinted that they declined his offer in the hope that the Indian government will lift the ban on exports soon. India banned vaccine exports in April when the second wave of the pandemic began to peak and the need to vaccinate people in the country at a greater pace was felt acutely. Further, recalling how the industry used to face 'hardships' in securing permissions and 'harassment from bureaucrats' 50 years ago, chairman of the city-based vaccine maker Serum Institute of India (SII), Dr Cyrus Poonawalla, hailed the Modi government saying that red-tapism and license raj have come down under its rule.
He also said that in the past, he had to 'fall at the feet' of bureaucrats and drug controllers in order to get permission, and added that the situation has changed now, which resulted in the quick launch of SII's COVID-19 vaccine - Covishield.
