Fire in the world’s largest vaccine factory in …

This Thursday there was a fire at Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer and one of the places where the drug developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford is produced. Local media assure that vaccine manufacturing has not been affected by the incident.

“The vaccine production facility was not affected and it will not affect the productionA representative of the Serum Institute of India told AFP, adding that “the fire has occurred in the new factory under construction”.

Indian TV stations broadcast images of huge gray smoke above the headquarters of the Serum Institute, located in Pune, western India, where millions of doses of the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford.

“We have sent six or seven fire engines to the scene. At the moment, we have no more information on the extent of the fire or if anyone has been trapped,” said an official of the local fire station, while police confirmed the arrival of troops. at the factory.

India is the second most affected country by covid-19, after the United States, with more than 10 million reported cases, despite having one of the lowest death rates in the world.

In addition to the AstraZeneca vaccine, Covaxin is produced in India, manufactured by local company Bharat Biotech, which was approved earlier this year.

On Saturday, India launched one of the most ambitious vaccination campaigns in the world, to immunize 300 million people through July.