Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday interacted with domestic vaccine manufacturers and heaped praises on their efforts leading to India achieving the 100-crore vaccination milestone.
The interaction was attended by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and his MoS Bharati Pawar; and MoS Chemicals and Fertilizers Bhagwanth Khuba. Among the vaccine bigwigs, Cyrus and Adar Poonawalla of Serum Institute of India and Dr Krishna and Suchitra Ella of Bharat Biotech, were present.
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During the meet, vaccine manufacturers exalted PM Modi for his “vision and dynamic leadership” in the country’s inoculation drive.
Besides the Poonawallas and Ellas, the meeting was also graced by Pankaj and Shervil Patel (Zydus Cadila), Mahima Datla and Narender Mantela (Biological E. Ltd), Dr Sanjay Singh and Satish Ramanlal Mehta (Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Ltd), Satish Reddy and Deepak Sapra (Dr. Reddy’s Lab) and Dr. Rajesh and Harshit Jain (Panacea Biotec Ltd).
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Here are the top 10 quotes from Saturday’s interaction:
– Adar Poonawalla of Serum Institute of India said, “All over the world now, countries are going to invest in vaccine production and India needs to stay ahead. We discussed how to do that together with industry and government.” He also tweeted, “The vaccine industry and I, thank you Shri @narendramodi Ji, for an excellent interaction. We feel energised and encouraged by the vision you have laid out for the industry.”
– Adar’s father Cyrus Poonawalla said, “Had it not been for him (Modi) and (he) driving the health ministry, today India would not have been able to make a billion doses. There is no doubt in my mind about that. When he came in November to the plant in Pune, I assured him and today he was very happy that our assurance has been fulfilled”. He added that the PM “went out of the way and made regulatory people move very fast and they also cooperated.”
– Pankaj Patel of Zydus, said Modi was the “biggest factor” in the development of the DNA-based COVID vaccine and praised the prime minister for “his encouragement and support”, by mentioning its DNA vaccine at his address at the United Nations.
– Krishna Ella of Bharat Biotech, the manufacturer of Covaxin, said, “Reaching the milestone of 100 crore doses was not easy but Modi was determined to make it and he converted all the initial negativity into an opportunity”. “He made it happen. I think that is the greatest thing a leader can do for any country,” Ella said.
– Bharat Biotech’s Joint Managing Director Suchitra Ella, who was also present in the meeting, thanked the PM for the interaction. “Thanks to PMO for the invitation, thought-provoking interaction and insights to make Indian biopharma companies prepare ahead for leadership in global innovation and manufacturing,” she tweeted.
– “The entire world is looking up to India,” PM Modi said in the backdrop of the success of the vaccination drive. Exhorting that the country needed to institutionalise the best practices learned during the last one-and-a-half years of the Covid-19 pandemic, PM Modi said, “India must turn the pandemic into an opportunity to modify our practices, in tune with the global standards.” “You should continuously work together to be ready to face future challenges,” he added.
– Meanwhile, the top vaccine makers noted that “had the country been following old norms, there would have been considerable delay and they would not have been able to reach the vaccination level that we have attained till now”.
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