The Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla on Tuesday said the rise of Covid-19 cases in China is a concern but India need not panic over it.
Poonawalla said that there is excellent vaccination coverage in India and that's why there should not be any panic in India.
China is currently having an unprecedented surge in Covid-19 infections and there are signs that the healthcare system is being overwhelmed. Besides China, Covid-19 cases have risen recently in other countries too, such as the United States and South Korea. In the wake of this surge, the Union government asked the states and Union territories (UTs) to increase genome sequencing of positive samples so that any new variant is identified at the earliest.
"The news of rising Covid-19 cases coming out of China is concerning. We need not panic given our excellent vaccination coverage and track record. We must continue to trust and follow the guidelines set by the Government of India and Ministry of Health and Family Affairs," said Poonawalla on Twitter.
Poonawalla's Serum Institute is the largest vaccine-maker in the world by the volume of doses produced. In India, the Covishield coronavirus vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute has been administered to most Indians. The Covishield is the Indian name of the vaccine developed by Oxford University and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. It's license-manufactured by the Serum Institute.
As of Wednesday, around 79 per cent of all the doses administered in India were of the Covishield vaccine, as per the COWIN dashboard.
(With PTI inputs)
