On Monday, Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar stated Bharat Biotech's Covaxin manufacturing facility that is under construction in Kolar district in Karnataka will have a production capacity of four to five crore doses a month by August end.
Addressing reporters ahead of his meeting with the experts on mucormycosis, Sudhakar told he had a video conference with Bharat Biotech founder Dr Krishna Ella, his daughter Dr Jala Ella and the rest of the team. Mucormycosis is identified as a black fungus, which is appearing as a new threat to those who recover from COVID- 19.
"Dr Ella has assured me that their facility at Malur in Kolar will be able to produce one crore vaccine by June- end. By July-end it will be by two to three crores, and their target by August-end is four crore to five crore vaccine doses," Sudhakar spoke.
The minister told, that he asked them to provide a roll-out schedule as well, which they will do quickly. According to him, Krishna Ella and all the directors reassured him that they will give vaccines to Karnataka at the earliest.
Karnataka officials will be in touch with them on how to spin out the vaccine in the state in the coming days.
"Our priority is to get the vaccines to the people of our state at the earliest," Sudhakar said.
He also declared that Bharat Biotech''s facility in Hyderabad can manufacture one crore doses of COVID vaccine a month whereas the Karnataka unit will roll out four to five crore doses a month from August onwards.
To a question, Sudhakar said Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa would be handling a meeting in the evening where a comprehensive discussion will take place on the augmentation of lockdown following which a decision will be taken.
Responding to a query on the Congress questioning the Narendra Modi government at the Centre for professedly selling the vaccines, Sudhakar said it was donated by the Centre to the COVID affected nations on humanitarian grounds as no one predicted the rigour of the second wave.
It was highly lamentable that Congress was indulging in politics despite assuring the government that it will cooperate with it in the fight against COVID, he said.
Karnataka has so far administered 1.12 crore vaccinations of coronavirus vaccines in the state covering first and second doses whereas it has halted the vaccination of people between the age group of 18 and 44, who are about 3.5 crore, due to lack of vaccines.
The state is wrecked by the second wave of COVID infections and reported 31,531 infections and 403 deaths on Sunday.
There are over six lakh active cases in the state, the manhood of whom are in Bengaluru
