New Delhi – Five people have been killed by a fire that broke out in the extensive complex of the Serum Institute of India, one of the largest vaccine production facilities in the world, which currently produces millions of doses of Oxford / AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
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The fire broke out Thursday afternoon in a building still under construction on the 100-acre site in the southwestern city of Pune. It was checked by Thursday night, but at least two of the upper floors of the five-story building were evacuated.
“Today is an extremely painful day for all of us at the Serum Institute of India. Unfortunately, there have been casualties in the fire that broke out,” said Adar Poonawalla, CEO and owner of the Serum Institute of India. He said the families of the victims would be offered “compensation” of about $ 34,000 each, in addition to any mandatory payment.
Pune Mayor Murlidhar Mohol confirmed that five people had died. Their bodies were recovered from the charred floors of the building.
Earlier in Poonawalla said the production of the coronavirus vaccine, produced in India under the name Covishield, would not be affected by the fire.
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Police and fire officials said the fire would be investigated. The cause is not immediately clear.
The Serum Institute began delivering hundreds of thousands of doses of Covishield just last week. It is said to have 100 million doses produced by March.
India on Saturday launched what has been described as the largest mass vaccination action in the world. The government plans to immunize 300 million people by July. Along with the photos from Covishield, India will also use Covaxin, an internal vaccine produced by Bharat Biotech.
Serum Institute of India is the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines by volume, producing 1.5 billion doses annually of drugs to fight a range of diseases, including polio, diphtheria, tetanus, hepatitis B, measles, mumps and rubella. Its products are exported to more than 170 countries.
Several middle- and low-income countries are relying on the Serum Institute to supply their stocks of coronavirus vaccines worldwide, The COVAX plan, supported by the World Health Organization. The project, which aims to ensure the correct distribution of coronavirus vaccines worldwide, has secured an order for 200 million doses from the Serum unit.
Bangladesh, Nepal and several countries in Africa and Central Asia are awaiting their first shipments from Covishield in the coming weeks.
India on Wednesday exported the first batches of Oxford vaccine from Ser to Bhutan and the Maldives.
The UK’s mass vaccination plan is also heavily based on Oxford / AstraZeneca, but the stock is produced in the UK.