Adar Poonawalla hails first supply of COVID-19 vaccine under COVAX initiative

New Delhi, Feb 24: Serum Institute of India (SII) on Wednesday said it has initiated supplies of COVID-19 vaccine Covishield to COVAX, the global initiative to ensure rapid and equitable access to the vaccine for all countries.

"It is a historic moment for all of us as COVAX receives its first doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured by SII, COVISHIELD. We are delighted to see the combined efforts of everyone result in saving the lives of millions," SII CEO Adar Poonawalla said in a tweet.

SII will continue to be at the forefront of fighting the pandemic with affordable and immunogenic vaccines, he added.

India on Wednesday dispatched the first batch of six lakh coronavirus vaccine doses to the African country of Ghana under the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) in collaboration with the UNICEF, which aims to cover 92 countries under the initiative.