The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has entered into an agreement with the Serum Institute of India (SII) to accelerate COVID-19 vaccination in small towns and rural areas in partnership with industry and healthcare providers.

TV Narendran, President, CII said India's post-pandemic growth critically rests on how soon the eligible population is vaccinated and economic activities can return to normal.

"CII aims to connect the community, hospitals, and corporates to fast-track vaccination, and the partnership with Serum Institute will help catalyze industry participation to reach out to communities at large. Overall, the industry has been playing a responsible part in ensuring vaccination of workers and their families, but clearly given the scale and urgency of the vaccination program, we can complement and supplement the efforts of the government in this pivotal mission for the nation," he stated.

Adar Poonawalla, CEO, Serum Institute of India said Serum Institute is pleased to partner with CII to work with industry members in reaching out the vaccine to communities in the hinterland.

"While SII has manufactured the vaccine at scale within a short period of time, it is essential that all stakeholders work together towards carrying out the inoculations. Our partnership with CII will be a good way to close the gaps, as there is plenty of supply of Covishield available for distribution," he said.

Dr Naresh Trehan, Chairman, CII National Healthcare Council and Chairman & Managing Director of Medanta - The Medicity said CII would take the learnings to the next level and help in inoculation of the people at the grassroots.

As part of the pan-India vaccine demand aggregation exercise, CII undertook a survey with responses from over 3,000 companies in 196 cities. This identified a requirement of over seven million single-dose vaccines, NDTV said.  

India's Covid graph continued to show an upward trend as the country reported 44,230 new cases on Friday, the most in three weeks, amid fears of another wave of infections. The spread of the disease - which had eased off after a peak of four lakh daily cases in May - has forced at least one state to lock down while movement restrictions are in place in some northeastern states reporting a rise in infection rates.(SAM)