Fire Breaks Out At World's Largest Vaccine Manufacturer Site In India, Vaccine Production Not Hit: Report

A major fire broke out at an under-construction building in the Serum Institute of India (SII) in the city of Pune, Reuters reports.

What Happened: A team of the National Disaster Response Force rushed to douse the fire that broke out at 14:45 India time, and the cause of the fire remains unknown. 

The fire broke out in the Manjri facility, where the Covishield vaccine developed by the Oxford University and AstraZeneca plc AZN is produced.

The under-construction building fire site is adjacent to the Covishield plant near the Terminal 1 gate, Indiatoday reports. Reportedly, the vaccine and the vaccine manufacturing plant are safe.

Three out of the four people trapped have been rescued so far. Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla told Indiatoday that they are trying to rescue the people trapped in the building first and will assess the damage later.

Why It Matters: Covishield is one of the two COVID-19 vaccines approved for emergency use in India. 

AZN, in a statement in early January, said, "The approval in India is an important milestone as it will enable to supply India but also a large number of countries around the world. AstraZeneca has partnered with Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, for the supply of the vaccine to the Indian Government but also to a large number of low and middle-income countries." 

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