₹600 to ₹225 a dose. “We have got 200 million doses of stock. We had to shut down production in December," the SII CEO said at a conclave today, saying he was worried about wastage if the shots expired. “I have even offered to give free donations to whoever wanted to take it." Serum’s predicament underscores the vaccine oversupply that has crept up across a world once desperate for immunization against the coronavirus.
Vaccine makers invested in massive production capacity over the past year and some of that has come online only after most countries covered much of their populations with two doses.
The global adjustment to living with the virus -- with the exception of Covid Zero-practising China and Hong Kong -- has also diluted the urgency for booster shots.
The about-turn is especially stark in India, which just a year ago slapped an export ban on Serum and other local producers to ensure enough supply for the local population.