
The Serum Institute of India, the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world, suffered a serious fire on Thursday. CEO Adar Poonwalla took to Twitter to thank the public for their concern and reassure them that despite major damage to multiple floors of the building, there had been no loss of life, or even any serious injuries.
A later tweet confirmed that thanks to multiple separate stockpiles, the company would still be able to meet all its obligations to supply COVID-19 vaccines to various countries. SII produces nearly fifty million units a month of a vaccine developed by Oxford University.
The blaze required no less than five fire engines to control, but caused no deaths or serious injuries. Adar hopes to have production back to one hundred present capacity soon, and to produce more than two and a half billion units of vaccinations before the end of 2021.