Not enough Covid vaccine for all until 2024, says biggest producer

[swag]

Source: Financial Times

Stephanie Findlay in New Delhi and Anna Gross in London

The chief executive of the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer has warned that not enough Covid-19 vaccines will be available for everyone in the world to be inoculated until the end of 2024 at the earliest. 

Adar Poonawalla, chief executive of the Serum Institute of India, told the Financial Times that pharmaceutical companies were not increasing production capacity quickly enough to vaccinate the global population in less time. 

“It’s going to take four to five years until everyone gets the vaccine on this planet,” said Mr Poonawalla, who estimated that if the Covid-19 shot is a two-dose vaccine — such as measles or rotavirus — the world will need 15bn doses.

Based in the western Indian city of Pune, the family-run Serum Institute has partnered with five international pharmaceutical firms, including AstraZeneca and Novavax, to develop a Covid-19 vaccine and committed to produce 1bn doses, of which it has pledged half to India. The company may also partner with Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute to manufacture the Sputnik vaccine. 

Mr Poonawalla said that the commitment far exceeded the capacity of other vaccine producers. “I know the world wants to be optimistic on it?.?.?.?[but] I have not heard of anyone coming even close to that [level] right now,” he said in a video call from London. 


Read more: https://www.ft.com/content/a832d5d7-4a7f-42cc-850d-8757f19c3b6b

[beachbumbob]

1. man oh man, he let the cat out of the bag and why this wasn't addressed months ago goes back to

dimestore journalism

[Claustrum]

2. And no one knows if a "COVID vaccine" is a one-time only thing or it would be

more like a "flu vaccine" that changes yearly based on it's mutation. The emphasis on a vaccine and it's effectiveness is way overblown imo.

[LovingA2andMI]

17. Exactly This....

Hell, most of America (not any that could see the forest from beyond the trees) just learned the virus was airborne in Trump's Woodward Tapes - despite the fact this was beyond obvious for months on end.

So, yes - we will be living with Masks and a lessen availability for whatever vaccine comes to play without mass medical issues (which we don't know that even yet - i.e. adverse reactions to whatever vaccine is mass produced) for years. Likely, an entire decade in totality.

Folks need to ready themselves for this reality.

[roamer65]

26. THIS.

[underpants]

3. I'm a bit surprised by the # of years but distribution is going to be a pain

Production of syringes and glass containers above current need is one issue. Refrigerated trucks to (as an example) every single hospital just in-the US is a whole other story.

[Aristus]

4. Are they factoring the vaccine refusals by the "vaccines contain alien sperm" and the

"I don't need a vaccine! I never get sick!" fuckbrains?

Yeah, they're stupid, and they're going to infect a lot of people with their stupidity. But it does mean more vaccine available for smart people.

[Fiendish Thingy]

5. Well, that's certainly a click bait headline

It might be true if Trump is re-elected, but a president Biden would use the Defense Production ACT to scale up manufacturing of vaccines, and hopefully other nations (Germany, UK, Canada, etc) would follow.

[LovingA2andMI]

18. It is Truth even if Biden is Elected.....

Why because Trump Fucked Us. Biden cannot just come in with a magic wand and fix what Trump fucked up for years. That is the reality. Similar to the economic crisis Bush left President Obama - the fix will be longer than how much time it took to fuck us up in the first damn place.

[Laelth]

6. k&r for the truth, no matter how depressing it may be. n/t

-Laelth

[patphil]

7. He's probably right.

It's going to take a huge effort to make that many doses available and inoculate 7.8 billion people.
The one thing we can expect in the US is that Trumpers will not be getting the vaccine since they think it's all a hoax. No problem, more vaccine for the rest of us.

I can't wait to hear what QAnon says about it.
I'll bet they start a rumor that the vaccine will give you the virus.
And/or it will turn everyone into mindless, deep state controlled zombies.

Of course the QAnon believers are already pretty much mindless, so it wouldn't change anything for them.

[bucolic_frolic]

9. Could even spawn VAnon

Perhaps people should be tested for sanity. There are some mental wackjobs out there, far too many, and they all have driver's licenses and credit cards. They are helping to determine our aggregate reality.

[patphil]

10. VAnon? Please, don't say that too loudly! It could happen.

[moriah]

27. A vaccine will be most helpful for elderly, health care workers, and other...

... high-risk groups. I'm not expecting the first rounds to be for everyone.

Even the vaccine study in my state excludes me, because it's allowing people 65+ to enroll both to determine effectiveness in that age group and because of the increased risk of death without a vaccine... but under 65 and you have to be working outside the home.

I get it, I really do -- to see if it's really effective, they need a population taking it that is likely to get community exposure. They also need to do safety tests on elderly patients, and it's possible a vaccine may only show partial results so seeing if elderly people who have had the shot get a less severe version of the disease compared to others of similar age/health is very important. I completely get why they've chosen their group the way they have.

But I do not work outside the home, and am high-risk for my age group. I would be happy to get even an experimental vaccine, but I understand my data wouldn't produce the answers they need.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

8. The Shingles vaccine was a 2 dose process

And there was at least a 4 to 6 week wait between doses for it to be affective. We had ours done before we went to Australia in 2018. We also had to have all of our shots and medications on record as well just in case.

Before going kverseas, travelers must have all their ducks in a row.

[BlueWavePsych]

11. Full article (no paywall) herer ...

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/health-pharma/not-enough-covid-19-vaccine-for-all-until-2024-says-biggest-producer-1.4354384

[iluvtennis]

13. Thank you for the link. nt

[DarthDem]

12. Reading the whole article,

Two people disagree with him, and he is making an effort himself to ramp up everything needed in India. What he means is that if nothing is done to increase production and supply capacity, it would take four years to distribute the vaccine using current resources and channels. So this is very baity.

[Journeyman]

19. He could be angling for government grants to enlarge his production capacity . . .

Clever way to get free money, if true.

But then, I'm a cynic when it comes to corporations, so there's that . . .

[DarthDem]

22. Good thinking!

He may actually not be a mercenary, but just looking for faster ways to help people. In any case he clearly thinks the process can be accelerated.

[Journeyman]

24. I believe I'll go with your take. It affirms our common humanity, something that isn't done . . .

enough these days, and something I should seek to do more often.

[modrepub]

14. Availability Will Be Based On Ability To Pay

That's why they Wall Street Crowd are euphoric (rising stock index prices).

[McCamy Taylor]

15. By then we will have 2 or 3 new plagues

if we keep disturbing wilderness habitats.

[BComplex]

16. That's accurate, McCamy Taylor. The plagues are going to keep coming until

animals are allowed to remain in their natural habitats, and not be used/caged/chopped up for superstitious purposes.

[Initech]

20. And there's a good possibility that the virus might burn out by then.

[cstanleytech]

21. Probably will have to prioritize it to medical personal first then followed by the most vulnerable

such as the elderly and those with major preexisting conditions like diabetes.

[FakeNoose]

23. We'll never get a straight answer from the US pharmaceuticals

This guy is in India, and he says half of their output will be distributed in his own country. I believe the capacity of American companies is far greater, but they're keeping quiet until they learn what their profit margin will be.

[truthisfreedom]

25. Lots of science can be applied here. Vaccinate the at-risk folks, the front liners,

Every grocery store worker, everybody in contact with the public first. We can do this.