Gujarat plant rolls out 1st batch of Covaxin doses

Tribune News Service

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New Delhi, August 29

The first commercial batch of indigenous Covid vaccine Covaxin was today launched by Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya from Ankleshwar in Gujarat.

With specialised bio-safety containment facilities now in Hyderabad, Malur, Ankleshwar and Pune, Bharat Biotech hopes to steadily move towards its aim of ensuring 1 billion doses of annualised capacity. The doses manufactured at Ankleshwar will be available from next month, said the company. The move is a major step towards boosting domestic vaccine supplies with the WHO urging nations to speed up inoculations.

Bharat Biotech is also exploring manufacturing partnerships with its partners in other countries, who have prior expertise with commercial scale manufacturing of inactivated viral vaccines under bio-safety containment for further augmentation of production. Mandaviya said, “India is focused on slowing the spread of Covid and the key to achieving this lies in the swift and efficient administration of vaccines.”