Developing More Effective Booster Shots Against Omicron: Adar Poonawala

Serum Institute of India is working to develop a vaccine booster shot more effective against the Omicron strain, its Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla said today.

On the basis of enough data, it is safe to say that booster shots are a proven strategy to increase antibodies to a great extent, Mr Poonawalla said.

Covid vaccines for children above three years will be launched in the next six months, he said.

"After two years of the pandemic, India is now better prepared to deal with such catastrophe, and hopefully the worst is behind us. The Government of India has been working towards creating an effective healthcare system and has made enough provision for hospital beds and oxygen," Adar Poonawalla said at the CII Partnership Summit 2021.

"With over a billion-dollar investment that has gone into developing and manufacturing the COVID-19 vaccine, the journey so far has given us several key lessons owing to the rapidly changing situation in accordance with the mutating virus," he added.

Globally, the supply of vaccines has outmatched its demand, he said, adding, "To keep up with the momentum, countries need to come together and form some agreement in order to prepare standard rules for clinical trials and manufacturing of the vaccines. Multilateral organisations and policymakers should be able to identify and isolate the new mutation/s and find out the efficacy of a vaccine against it, in a time-bound manner. Joining two other companies which are working towards developing the vaccine for children, SII has reached the trial phase of the vaccine for children aged above three. It should be ready within the next six months."

Commending the Centre's role in tackling the challenges posed by the pandemic in the last two years, he stated that going forward, the government and industry should work even more closely to further improve the business environment and simplify the rules and regulations for manufacturers to expand the sector.