AP: AP Interview: India vaccine maker sees virus as wake-up call
“The coronavirus pandemic is a ‘wake up call’ for governments to invest more in health care, says Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines. The Serum Institute has taken on a vital role as the largest company licensed to manufacture the Oxford University-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine. It is increasing its production capacity by the end of 2021 to over 2.5 billion doses a year to cope with future disease outbreaks, Poonawalla said in a telephone interview with the Associated Press…” (Ghosal, 12/11).

Quartz: Who is using China’s Covid-19 vaccines?
“…Before Britain granted emergency-authorization to the Pfizer vaccine, a few countries had also used emergency approval to began offering China’s Covid-19 shots to health workers. Currently, four Covid-19 vaccines from three Chinese firms are at an advanced stage: Sinopharm has two vaccines in development; private U.S.-listed biotech firm Sinovac has developed a shot called CoronaVac; and CanSino Biologics also has a candidate…” (Lahiri, 12/10).

Washington Post: Russia expected a surge for its Sputnik V vaccine. But many skeptics still stayed away.
“…With Russia’s coronavirus cases rising sharply, authorities are banking on the country’s Sputnik V vaccine as the answer to the crisis — and opened the vaccine to the public even before it finishes Phase III trials. In the first group, health workers and teachers can start the two-dose treatment. But there seemed to be more vaccine skeptics than takers in the first week across Russia, struggling with the fourth-highest number of cases at more than 2.5 million…” (Dixon, 12/11).