In the last few days, the focus has shifted from the coronavirus to its vaccine and after India gave an emergency nod to two jabs, logistics have taken the centre stage. While the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which was globally the first to get the emergency nod, needs to be stored at minus 80 degree Celsius, the two jabs cleared by India have to be transported at 2-8 degree Celsius.
The Serum Institute of India (SII), which has partnered with AstraZeneca for the Covishield, is located on the outskirts of Pune. The company is the world’s largest vaccine producer and was founded in 1966. While the company exports to more than 100 countries, Pune does not have a full-time civilian airport that can support large-scale cargo operations.
As SII starts shipping millions of doses of Covishield across India and caters to orders from across the world, the Pune airport, which is a civil enclave and controlled and owned by the Indian Air Force, is undergoing runway resurfacing. It is closed from 8 pm to 8am, severely restricting the hours of operations and shipping of cargo.
Source : Money Control
