The government made an advance payment of Rs 4,500 crore to prevent the supply of vaccines

New delhi date. 20 April 2021, Tuesday

The government is now trying to speed up the vaccination drive to put a brake on the pace of uncontrolled corona in the country.

The government has allowed vaccinations for those over 18 years of age, but has also made advance payments to Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech for the production of vaccine doses by July to prevent supply of the two vaccines currently available in India. The government has paid about Rs 4,500 crore for this.

According to a media report, an advance payment of Rs 3,000 crore has been made to Serum Institute, which manufactures Covishield, and Rs 1,500 crore to Bharat Biotech, Hyderabad, which manufactures Covacin. Last week, the government also approved a Rs 65 crore grant for Bharat Biotech's Bangalore-based plant.

Notably, many states have complained of insufficient supply of corana vaccine. In some states, including Maharashtra, vaccination centers had to be closed due to lack of vaccines. On the other hand, Adar Poonawala, founder of the Serum Institute, also said, "We need Rs 3,000 crore to increase vaccine production capacity."

The government's advance payment is also barring pharmaceutical companies from working to increase their production capacity.