Virendra Pandit
Mumbai: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Indian scientists on Monday for indigenously developing not one but two vaccines to cure the COVID-19 pandemic, one of these vaccine-makers revealed that his company will provide the shot to the government for Rs. 250 while it will be available in the private market for Rs.1,000 per shot.
The world’s biggest vaccination drive against the pandemic in India, which is the planet’s vaccine factory, is expected to begin in the next few days. On Sunday, Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) Dr. VG Somani approved the Serum Institute of India’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for emergency use against coronavirus.
The eagerly-awaited approval by DGCI paved the way for the roll-out of these vaccines in India shortly.
Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla revealed the two price tags of Covishield, media reported.
He said Covishield will be supplied to the government at a price tag of Rs.250 while it will be available in the open market for Rs.1,000. Covishield, he said, is cheaper than the vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and its transportation is also easier than Pfizer’s vaccine.
The Pune-based SII is making 50-60 million doses under license from the vaccine-developers, Oxford University and AstraZeneca, every month.
The Government of India plans to vaccinate more than 130 crore people by mid-2021. “We are ready to provide the vaccine for the government. We have sent our proposal and are waiting for the contract to be signed with the government. The vaccine will be made available to the government within 10 days of the contract,” Poonawala said.
The SII is yet to receive permission from the government to export the vaccine. “We have bilateral relations with Saudi Arabia and some other countries. We have sought permission from the government in this regard. After getting this approval, we will be able to deliver our medicine to more than 50 countries of the world,” he said.
The DGCI granted the approval to Covishield and Covaxin after a Subject Expert Committee (SEC) of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) recommended these two vaccines for emergency use in India. Covishield was recommended for emergency use on January 1, whereas Covaxin was recommended for restricted use on January 2.
On Saturday, Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan said the vaccines would be given free of cost to priority groups in the first phase, covering about three crore people.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the DCGI decision and said that approval of two vaccines is a decisive turning point to strengthen a spirited fight.
“DCGI granting approval to vaccines of Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech accelerates the road to a healthier and COVID-free nation. Congratulations India. Congratulations to our hardworking scientists and innovators,” he said.