Adar Poonawalla calls for lowering the vaccination gap to six months

Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla said that his recommendation to lower the vaccination gap to six months is to ensure that the troubles of the first two waves of the pandemic do not repeat in India. Currently, the government policy is to provide a booster dose after nine months of receiving the second dose.

Mr. Poonawalla defended his call by saying he has made enough money and his objective behind the statement is not money. "I have also offered vaccines for free to avoid waste, which I wouldn't have done if my objective is money."

He also warned against the business-as-usual approach many in the nation has adopted. "We cannot afford to put a price tag on the life of a citizen because the pandemic is not over yet." He added that taking decisions on time as we did during the second wave is the need of the hour when it comes to booster does and vaccinating children.

Speaking at the Indian economic conclave, the Serum CEO said that the committees and key people who are supposed to be making decisions do not have a sense of urgency any longer. "The momentum of the past that brought us so far is lost".

Serum Institute has stopped the production of vaccines from December 31, 2021 to avoid waste. Mr. Poonawalla said that the company currently has over 200 million vials in stock because the public is experiencing a rise in vaccine fatigue. He noted that there is a low off-take of the vaccines despite the price being reduced from Rs 600 to Rs 225.

He recommended the adoption of booster doses noting that many countries have made booster doses mandatory for entry. Hence, many international travellers are waiting for booster doses to be available. He also recounted the statistics showing the antibody presence goes down when the vaccine gap is increased.