During the devastating global COVID-19 pandemic, India undertook the largest vaccination drive in human history. The absolute backbone of this massive campaign was a vaccine named Covishield.
To answer which country made it, we must look at both its Invention and its Manufacturing.
Invented By: Oxford University and AstraZeneca (United Kingdom).
Manufactured By: Serum Institute of India (Pune, India).
Brand Name: Sold in India as 'Covishield'.
Type of Vaccine: Viral vector vaccine (using a weakened chimpanzee adenovirus).
CEO of SII: Adar Poonawalla, who led the massive manufacturing effort.
The scientific formula and the actual biological blueprint for the vaccine were invented and developed in the United Kingdom. It was a massive joint scientific effort between the world-famous Oxford University and the British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca.
While the UK invented the formula, they did not have the factories required to produce billions of doses quickly enough for the developing world. Therefore, AstraZeneca partnered with the Serum Institute of India (SII), located in Pune, Maharashtra. The Serum Institute is the absolute largest vaccine manufacturer in the world by volume. SII manufactured the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine locally in India and legally branded it under the commercial name 'Covishield'.
Covishield was India's primary weapon against the virus. Not only did SII manufacture enough doses to double-vaccinate nearly a billion Indians, but under the 'Vaccine Maitri' initiative, India exported millions of doses of Covishield to poor and developing countries across Africa and Asia who could not afford expensive American vaccines.
The biological formula for the vaccine was invented in the United Kingdom by Oxford University and AstraZeneca.
It was mass-produced in India by the Serum Institute of India (SII), located in Pune.
Yes. Covishield is simply the Indian brand name for the exact same vaccine globally known as the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
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