"Vaccine Hesitancy Greatest Threat" In Overcoming Covid: Adar Poonawalla

Adar Poonawalla, the chief of Serum Institute of India which manufactures COVID-19 vaccine Covishield, on Wednesday said vaccine hesitancy was the "greatest threat" in overcoming the pandemic.

Mr Poonawalla, urging all those eligible to get vaccinated as soon as possible, said there are "over 200 million doses" of Covishield vaccine available with states.

"The vaccine industry has worked tirelessly to provide enough stocks for the nation. Today there are over 200 million doses available with states. I urge all adults to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Vaccine hesitancy is now the greatest threat in overcoming this pandemic," he said in a tweet.

The vaccine industry has worked tirelessly to provide enough stocks for the nation. Today there are over 200 million doses available with states. I urge all adults to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Vaccine hesitancy is now the greatest threat in overcoming this pandemic.

— Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) November 17, 2021

AstraZeneca and Oxford University's Covishield and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin are the two widely used vaccines in India.

Despite the ample supply, only around 40 percent of India's adult population have been fully vaccinated as many skip their second dose amid a decrease in infections. According to CoWIN dashboard, more than 38 crore of the country's around 93 crore adults have been administered both the doses of vaccine.

The Centre this month launched its door-to-door vaccination campaign - 'Har Ghar Dastak' - to motivate people towards full vaccination against the deadly infection.

Earlier, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, highlighting the need to accelerate the pace and coverage of vaccination, stated that there are more than 10.34 crore people in the country who have not taken the second dose after the expiry of the prescribed interval.