Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla, in an interview with the British newspaper The Times, confessed that has been receiving phone calls from the “most powerful” including Indian chief ministers, business tycoons and others, for instant supplies of Covishield.
“Threats is an understatement. The level of expectation and aggression is really unprecedented. It’s overwhelming. Everyone feels they should get the vaccine. They can’t understand why anyone else should get it before them,” Poonawalla said regarding the phone calls.
The CEO alleged that in the phone calls the “powerful people” have been telling him that if he does not provide the vaccines then it will “not be good” for him.
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“They are saying if you don’t give us the vaccine it’s not going to be good. It’s not foul language, it’s the tone. It’s the implication of what they might do if I don’t comply. It’s coming over and basically surrounding the place and not letting us do anything unless we give in to their demands,” alleged the CEO.
Poonawalla said that he had moved to London for an “extended time” as he does not want to “go back to that situation”.
“Everything falls on my shoulders but I can’t do it alone…I don’t want to be in a situation where you are just trying to do your job, and just because you can’t supply the needs of X, Y or Z you really don’t want to guess what they are going to do,” said Poonawalla.
However, that was not the only reason to move to the country. The CEO indicated that his move was also linked to business plans to expand vaccine manufacturing to countries outside India.
