Pune: The first consignment of Covishield vaccines left the Serum Institute of India in the wee hours on Tuesday ahead of the January 16 nationwide inoculation drive launch, marking a decisive phase in an anti-coronavirus fight.
Three temperature-controlled trucks rolled out of the Serum Institute's gates shortly before 5 am, reached Pune International Airport and shipped to different locations in the country.
A 'puja' was performed before the vehicles left the facility. The 13 locations where Covishield vaccines will be flown from Pune include Delhi, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Karnal, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Guwahati, Lucknow, Chandigarh and Bhubaneswar, a source closely involved in the transport arrangements told a news agency.
The trucks carried 478 boxes of the vaccines and each box weighs 32 kg. The cargo will be dispatched to these locations by 10 am, he added.
The consignment for Mumbai left by the road, he said, adding trucks belonging to Kool-ex Cold Chain Ltd are being used to ferry the vaccine stocks.
The Central government on Monday placed firm orders in advanced commitments for over 6 crore doses of COVID vaccine from Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech for inoculating three crore healthcare and frontline workers in the first phase of the vaccination drive scheduled to start from January 16.
Last week, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) gave a go-ahead to two vaccines, Covishield by the Serum Institute of India and COVAXIN by Bharat Biotech. Questions were raised on the clearances given to COVAXIN without phase-3 trials. The government, as well as Bharat Biotech, have, however, maintained that the vaccine is '100 per cent safe'.
With inputs from agency
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