Oxford COVID-19 vaccine should be available for public by April 2021, likely to be priced at Rs 1000: SII CEO

Serum Institute of India's CEO Adar Poonawalla said on November 19, 2020 that the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine should be available for the general public by April 2021.

Poonawalla stated that the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine will be made available for healthcare workers and vulnerable and elderly people by around February 2021.

The SII CEO shared the information while speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2020. He said that probably by 2024, every Indian will get vaccinated. 

What will be the price of Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine?

The COVID vaccine is likely to be priced at a maximum MRP of Rs 1,000 for two necessary doses for the public, depending on the final trial results and regulatory approvals. Poonawalla said that the vaccine will be around Rs 500-600 per dose and two doses are required. 

He further stated that the government of India will be getting it at a far cheaper price at around $3-4 because it will be buying in a large volume and get access to the price that is similar to what COVAX has got. He said that the Serum Institute will be pricing it far cheaper and more affordable than other vaccines in the market today. 

How long will it take for every Indian to be vaccinated?

According to Adar Poonawalla, it will probably take two or three years for every Indian to get inoculated. He stated that this long duration is not just because of the supply constraints but because one needs the budget, vaccine, logistics, infrastructure and then, people should be willing to take the vaccine. These are the factors that lead up to being able to vaccinate 80-90 percent of the population. He stated that it will be 2024 for everybody, if willing to take a two-dose vaccine, to be vaccinated.

Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine: How effective will it be?

•The Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine candidate has reportedly produced a strong immune response among older adults. This was revealed in the data published on November 19, 2020. The researchers are expecting to release late-stage trial results by Christmas. 

•The latest data suggests that the vaccine will help those aged over 70, who are at higher risk of serious illness and death from Covid-19, build robust immunity. SII CEO Adar Poonawalla has also shared that the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine is so far proving to work very well even in elderly people, which was a concern earlier.

•He stated that the vaccine has managed to induce a good T-cell response, which is an indicator of your long-term immunity and antibody response. But he continued by saying that only time will only tell if these vaccines are going to provide protection in the long term. He said that nobody can answer that for any of the vaccines being developed today.

How safe is the Oxford Vaccine?

Adar Poonawalla confirmed that there have been no major complaints, reactions or adverse events till now among the volunteers but he added saying that they would need to wait and see. He said that the efficacy and immunogenicity results from the Indian trials will come out in about a month-and-a-half.

When will SII apply for Emergency Use Authorization?

Poonawalla said that the Serum Institute will apply for an emergency use authorisation in India when the UK authorities and the European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA) approve it for emergency use. He said that the emergency use will, however, be limited to the frontline workers, healthcare workers and elderly people.

What is the safe storage temperature for the Oxford vaccine?

The Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine can be safely stored at a temperature of 2-8 degrees Celsius, which is an ideal temperature for it to be stored in the cold storage of India.

Oxford Vaccine Distribution plan

•The Serum Institute of India plans to manufacture about 10 crore doses per month from February 2021. However, talks are still going on to decide how many doses will be provided to India. Poonawalla stated that India wants around 400 million doses by July but he is not sure if it will take all from the Serum Institute.

•Poonawalla stated that SII is gearing up to offer that kind of volume to India and still has a few 100 million to offer to the COVAX facility by July and August 2021 but there hasn't been any agreement so far.

•Poonawalla further confirmed that the SII is not entering into any agreement with other countries at this moment as India is its priority. He said that the institute has not signed and committed anything else beyond Bangladesh at the moment.

•He added that they want to handle India as a priority first and manage Africa at the same time and then help out other countries. He confirmed that roughly 30-40 crore doses of the Oxford vaccine will be available by the first quarter of 2021.

Is India in talks with other vaccine manufacturers?

The Indian government has some talks going on with American drug giant Pfizer but not much with Moderna, informed AIIMS Director Dr. Randeep Guleria during the HT summit. He, however, added saying that storing Pfizer's vaccine will be a huge challenge as it needs a cold chain of minus 70 degrees Celsius.

Background

The Serum Institute of India, which is one of the world's largest vaccine manufacturers, has tied up with AstraZeneca that is developing a COVID-19 vaccine called AZD122 or ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 in partnership with Oxford University. The Serum Institute is expected to provide at least a 100 million doses of the vaccine in India and other low and middle-income countries.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine candidate has been one of the front-runners in the global efforts to develop a vaccine to provide protection against the SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, rival drugmakers Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna have already released data from their last-stage COVID-19 vaccine trials and it shows more than 90% vaccine efficacy.