New Delhi: Bharat Biotech will produce 30 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine, Covaxin, next month against 15 million doses in March to support a vaccination campaign in the country, its chairman and managing director Krishna Ella said on Tuesday.
The vaccine maker in a statement has said that the company has ramped up its production capacity of Covaxin to 700 million doses per annum.
The government has also approved a payment of about Rs 4,500 crore as advance to vaccine makers like Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech against future supplies.
Read:| Bharat Biotech scales up Covaxin production to 70 crore doses annually
Speaking at an event, Ella said that the company will be activating two new facilities in Bengaluru. The company started with one production facility in the beginning, and now it has four production facilities activated in Hyderabad.
"Last month we produced 15 million doses, this month we are reaching 20 million doses, next month we will be making around 30 million doses followed by 70 to 75 million doses," Ella said.
He said that the company expects to reach a production capacity of up to 800 million doses per annum by July-August. "We are ramping up the production and by July-August, we will be able to reach 700 to 800 million doses production capacity per annum," Ella said.
Ella also emphasised that the company has never taken any money from the Government of India for production or clinical trials so far.
Read:| Govt to provide Rs 4,500 cr advance to vaccine makers
Stating the need for vaccination, Ella said injectable vaccines only protect the lower lung, not the upper lung so many people may still get the disease after vaccination but it won't be lethal and one gets protection against the seriousness of the disease. Wearing a mask is a must even after vaccination.
When asked about his take on other vaccines against COVID-19 coming to India, Ella said if the vaccines are well tested and well-proven, Indian citizens should have all the options available. He also added that people should believe that Indian science is not behind any of the western countries.
PTI
Read:| Amid spike in Covid-19 infections, Bharat Biotech to boost vaccine production
