<p>With exports of Covid-19 vaccines from India yet to resume, Serum Institue of India (SII) chief Adar Poonawalla said that his firm has a backlog of $1 billion worth of Covishield doses yet to be shipped abroad.</p>.<p>In an <a href="https://www.news18.com/news/india/adar-poonawalla-awaits-govts-order-to-resume-export-of-covid-vaccine-says-has-backlog-of-billion-dollar-doses-4225118.html" target="_blank">interview</a> with <em>CNBC-TV18</em>, Poonawalla said it would wait for a government directive on the resumption of vaccine exports. His comments came soon after Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announcing on Monday that the government would <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/india-to-resume-export-of-surplus-covid-19-vaccines-next-month-mandaviya-1032385.html" target="_blank">resume</a> its export of vaccines to friendly nations from October under the 'Vaccine Maitri' scheme.</p>.<p>Poonawalla also told the news channel that SII would apply for Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) from the DCGI for the Covovax vaccine by the end of 2021. He added that Covovax had shown "good response against the Delta variant."</p>.<p>The CEO of the world's largest manufacturer also said that he expects to supply 20 crore doses of Covishield per month by December. Speaking about the approval of Covishield in the UK and EU, he said that he expects to hear from the respective regulators soon.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/siis-covishield-forms-60-crore-out-of-65-crore-covid-19-vaccine-doses-supplied-so-far-1025557.html" target="_blank">SII's Covishield forms 60 crore out of 65 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses supplied so far</a></strong></p>.<p>He asserted that Covishield was identical to the AstraZeneca vaccine already approved in the two regions, just as the UK <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/uk-says-it-is-working-with-india-on-recognition-of-vaccine-certificates-1032593.html" target="_blank">announced</a> that it would fail to recognise people travelling to the island nation as 'vaccinated' even if they had received both doses of the Covishield Covid-19 vaccines under the inoculation programme in India. This means that most Indians will still need to undergo an RT-PCR before departing for and after arriving to UK.</p>.<p>When asked about a Covid-19 vaccine for children, Poonawalla informed the broadcaster that such a vaccine should be available for those aged below the age of 18 after trials for the same conclude in February 2022.</p>.<p>For Poonawalla, the focus remains on Covishield, which has been administered 700 million Indians so far, he said. Factoring in the erratic supply of vaccine raw material, he expects SII to roll out anywhere between 16-21 crore doses of Covishield (per month?).</p>.<p>SII also plans to invest in ramping up infrastructure to produce the Covovax and Sputnik-V vaccines in India, he added.</p>.<p><strong>Check out latest DH videos here</strong></p>
<p>With exports of Covid-19 vaccines from India yet to resume, Serum Institue of India (SII) chief Adar Poonawalla said that his firm has a backlog of $1 billion worth of Covishield doses yet to be shipped abroad.</p>.<p>In an <a href="https://www.news18.com/news/india/adar-poonawalla-awaits-govts-order-to-resume-export-of-covid-vaccine-says-has-backlog-of-billion-dollar-doses-4225118.html" target="_blank">interview</a> with <em>CNBC-TV18</em>, Poonawalla said it would wait for a government directive on the resumption of vaccine exports. His comments came soon after Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announcing on Monday that the government would <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/india-to-resume-export-of-surplus-covid-19-vaccines-next-month-mandaviya-1032385.html" target="_blank">resume</a> its export of vaccines to friendly nations from October under the 'Vaccine Maitri' scheme.</p>.<p>Poonawalla also told the news channel that SII would apply for Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) from the DCGI for the Covovax vaccine by the end of 2021. He added that Covovax had shown "good response against the Delta variant."</p>.<p>The CEO of the world's largest manufacturer also said that he expects to supply 20 crore doses of Covishield per month by December. Speaking about the approval of Covishield in the UK and EU, he said that he expects to hear from the respective regulators soon.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/siis-covishield-forms-60-crore-out-of-65-crore-covid-19-vaccine-doses-supplied-so-far-1025557.html" target="_blank">SII's Covishield forms 60 crore out of 65 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses supplied so far</a></strong></p>.<p>He asserted that Covishield was identical to the AstraZeneca vaccine already approved in the two regions, just as the UK <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/uk-says-it-is-working-with-india-on-recognition-of-vaccine-certificates-1032593.html" target="_blank">announced</a> that it would fail to recognise people travelling to the island nation as 'vaccinated' even if they had received both doses of the Covishield Covid-19 vaccines under the inoculation programme in India. This means that most Indians will still need to undergo an RT-PCR before departing for and after arriving to UK.</p>.<p>When asked about a Covid-19 vaccine for children, Poonawalla informed the broadcaster that such a vaccine should be available for those aged below the age of 18 after trials for the same conclude in February 2022.</p>.<p>For Poonawalla, the focus remains on Covishield, which has been administered 700 million Indians so far, he said. Factoring in the erratic supply of vaccine raw material, he expects SII to roll out anywhere between 16-21 crore doses of Covishield (per month?).</p>.<p>SII also plans to invest in ramping up infrastructure to produce the Covovax and Sputnik-V vaccines in India, he added.</p>.<p><strong>Check out latest DH videos here</strong></p>
