AstraZeneca Legal Notice To Serum Institute Over Vaccine Delays: Sources

Serum Institute of India's Adar Poonawalla had said the government's pause on major Covishield shipments to other countries and the 'first claim' deal with India were difficult to explain abroad, where the vaccine was sold at a substantially higher cost per dose.

Adar Poonawalla's Serum Institute of India (SII), the maker of coronavirus vaccine Covishield in India, has reportedly been served a legal notice by AstraZeneca over vaccine supply delays. The news emerged a day after Mr Poonawalla admitted in an interview to NDTV that existing production capacity to manufacture Covishield, one of the two vaccines being administered in India, is "very stressed, to put it frankly". He also said the government's pause on major Covishield shipments to other countries and the 'first claim' deal with India were difficult to explain abroad, where the vaccine was sold at a substantially higher cost per dose. "The globe needs this vaccine and we are prioritising the needs of India at the moment and we are still short of being able to supply... to every Indian that needs it," Mr Poonawalla said.