'Serum Institute of India to halve output of AstraZeneca vaccine as demand sinks'

Serum Institute of India (SII), the world`s biggest vaccine maker, will halve the output of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 shot from next week as it had no fresh orders from the government, its CEO Adar Poonawalla told CNBC-TV18 on Tuesday.

"I am going to be reducing production by at least 50% to begin with, going forward on a monthly basis, until orders again pick up either in India or the world," Poonawalla said.

SII is producing 250 million doses of the vaccine, which it brands Covishield. The shot accounts for nearly 90% of the 1.3 billion total vaccine doses administered in India.