Watch: To Endorse Covishield’s Safety, Serum Institute Of India CEO Adar Poonawalla Takes Jab

As India embarked on its Covid-19 vaccination journey on Saturday, Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla joined the nation’s three crore healthcare and frontline workers in taking the coronavirus jab.

At present India’s drugs regulator has cleared Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and Serum Institute’s Covishield for emergency use approval.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the first phase of the pan-India Covid-19 vaccination drive on Saturday through video conference.

“In a short time two made-in-India vaccines have been developed and this reflects India’s advancement in the field of science and medicine,” PM Modi said before the launch of the inoculation drive.

Responding to the launch Ponnawalla said, “It brings me great pride that Covishield is part of this historic effort & to endorse its safety & efficacy, I join our health workers in taking the vaccine myself.” Poonawalla shared a small video of him receiving the jab on Twitter.

Covishield has been developed by Oxford University and British-Swedish company AstraZeneca and manufactured by the Pune-based SII.

 (With PTI inputs)