New Delhi Five people have been killed in a fire that broke out in the sprawling complex of the Serum Institute of India, one of the world’s largest vaccine facilities currently delivering millions of doses of Oxford / AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
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The fire broke out Thursday afternoon in a building still under construction on the 100-acre site in the southwestern city of Pune. It was brought under control by Thursday night, but at least two of the top floors of the five-story building were cluttered.
“Today is an extremely sad day for all of us at Serum Institute of India. Unfortunately, there were loss of life in the fire that broke out,” Adar Poonawalla, CEO and owner of Serum Institute of India, said in a statement. He said the victims’ families are being offered compensation of about $ 34,000 each, in addition to a mandatory payout.
The mayor of Pune, Murlidhar Mohol, has confirmed that five people have been killed. Their bodies were recovered from the charred floors of the building.
Earlier in the day Poonawalla said the production of the coronavirus vaccine, which is produced in India under the brand name Covishield, will not be affected by the fire.
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Police and firefighters said the fire will be investigated. The cause is not immediately clear.
The Serum Institute alone started sending out hundreds of thousands of doses of Covishield last week. It is said to have produced 100 million doses by March.
India, which is described as the world’s largest mass vaccination ride, launched on Saturday. The government plans to immunize 300 million people by July. Along with the Covishield shots, India will also use Covaxin, a household vaccine manufactured by Bharat Biotech.
Serum Institute of India is the largest volume manufacturer of vaccines in the world and annually produces 1.5 billion doses of drugs to combat a variety of diseases, including polio, diphtheria, tetanus, hepatitis B, measles, mumps and rubella. Its products are exported to more than 170 countries.
Several middle- and low-income countries rely on the Serum Institute to deliver their coronavirus vaccine supply worldwide. COVAX plan supported by the World Health Organization. The project, which aims to ensure equitable distribution of coronavirus vaccines around the world, has received an order for 200 million doses from the Serum facility.
Bangladesh, Nepal and several countries in Africa and Central Asia are expecting their first delivery of Covishield in the coming weeks.
India exported the first batch of Oxford vaccine on Wednesday from Serum to Bhutan and the Maldives.
The UK’s mass vaccination plan also relies heavily on the drug Oxford / AstraZeneca, but the stock is produced in Britain.