In Pics: Covishield dispatched from SII, states await arrival of first consignment of corona vaccine
Pune, Jan 12: A decisive phase in India's fight against coronavirus began in the wee hours on Tuesday as the first consignment of Covishield vaccines left Serum Institute of India for Pune airport, four days ahead of the nationwide inoculation drive launch.
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#WATCH | Three trucks carrying Covishield vaccine reached Pune airport from Serum Institute of India's facility in the city, earlier this morning.
— ANI (@ANI) January 12, 2021
From the airport, the vaccine doses will be shipped to different locations in the country. The vaccination will start on January 16. pic.twitter.com/v3jk4WUyyq
3 trucks carrying Covishield vaccine leave Pune's Serum Institute
Three temperature-controlled trucks rolled out of the Serum Institute's gates shortly before 5 am and left for Pune airport, from where the vaccines will be flown across India.
The trucks carried 478 boxes of the vaccines, each box weighing 32 kg, a source closely involved in the transport arrangements told PTI.
The trucks left the Serum Institute of India premises at Manjari and reached the airport, located 15 km from the facility.
Vaccines to be dispatched to 13 locations
From the airport, the vaccines will be dispatched to 13 locations across the country by 10 am, the source said.
A ''puja'' was performed before the vehicles left the facility.
The locations where these Covishield vaccines will be flown from Pune include Delhi, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Karnal, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Guwahati, Lucknow, Chandigarh and Bhubaneswar.
The consignment for Mumbai will leave by road. Trucks belonging to Kool-ex Cold Chain Ltd are being used to ferry the vaccine stocks from Serum Institute.
One consignment to be shipped by an Air India cargo flight
Among the first batch, one consignment is scheduled to be shipped by an Air India cargo flight to Ahmedabad.
On Monday, Gujarat deputy chief minister Nitin Patel tweeted that his state will receive the first consignment of coronavirus vaccine on Tuesday at 10.45 am at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport in Ahmedabad.
Six crore doses of vaccines from Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech
The
Central
government
on
Monday
placed
firm
orders
in
advanced
commitments
for
over
six
crore
doses
of
vaccines
from
Serum
Institute
and
Bharat
Biotech
for
inoculating
three
crore
healthcare
and
frontline
workers
in
the
first
phase
of
the
nationwide
vaccination
drive
beginning
January
16.
30 crore citizens to get anti-Covid jabs in next few months: PM Modi
Interacting
with
state
chief
ministers
on
Monday,
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi
underscored
the
enormity
of
what
he
called
as
the
world's
biggest
vaccination
exercise,
saying
over
30
crore
citizens
will
get
the
jabs
in
the
next
few
months
in
India
against
only
2.5
crore
people
vaccinated
so
far
in
over
50
countries
in
around
a
month.
Covishield to cost Rs 200 a dose
The government has placed an order for Oxford-AstraZeneca's vaccine against COVID-19 manufactured by Serum Institute of India (SII) as the nationwide immunisation drive is set to rollout from January 16. The vaccine will cost Rs 200 a dose in the country. SII's chief executive Adar Poonawalla had said in December last year that the Covishield vaccine would be priced around Rs 438-585 ($6-8) per dose for the private market in India.
Effectiveness
On safety concerns regarding the vaccines, Drugs Controller General of India, VG Somani said, "We will never approve anything if there's slightest of safety concern. Vaccines are 110 % safe. Some side effects like mild fever, pain & allergy are common for every vaccine."