Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s largest vaccine maker, on Tuesday said the state government will be provided with its Covid-19 vaccine Covishield at a price tag of Rs.400 per dose, while private hospitals will get it Rs.600 per jab.
The Centre will continue to get it at Rs.250 per dose.
This week, the government announced to inoculate all Indians above 18 years of age from May 1. This drive will cover nearly 90 crore Indians, to be vaccinated in the coming months. As each of them will get two doses, 180 crore doses will, potentially, generate a business of over Rs.20,000 crore for Indian and foreign vaccine makers in the country itself.
SII said Covishield, which it manufactures as a licensed partner of Britain’s pharmaceutical major AstraZeneca, the co-developer of vaccine with the University of Oxford, is “affordable to any other” in the world. The company listed its prices two days after the government decided to open up vaccinations against Covid-19 to those aged 18 and above, and ramp up production capacities with central financial aid.
“For the next two months, we will address the limited capacity by scaling up the vaccine production. Going ahead, 50 per cent of our capacities will be served to the Government of India’s vaccination programme, and the remaining 50 per cent of the capacity will be for the state governments and private hospitals,” SII tweeted.
SII’s Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla said the Centre’s directives would help scale up vaccine production and allow the State governments, private hospitals, and vaccination centres to procure vaccines directly. SII will also receive financial support of Rs. 3,000-crore support from the Centre.
“Owing to the complexity, and the urgency of the situation, it is challenging to supply it independently to each corporate entity. We would urge all corporate and private individuals to access the vaccines through the State facilitated machinery and private health systems. Post 4-5 months, the vaccines will be made available in retail and free trade,” he said.
American vaccines like those manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna will cost around Rs.1,500 per dose, while the Russian and Chinese vaccines will be priced at around Rs. 750 per dose each.
In the ongoing nationwide vaccination drive, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched on January 14, Covishield comprises more than 90 per cent of the 12.76 crore Covid-19 vaccines administered in India so far. Many states and the Union Territories have only used Covishield as the production of India’s indigenous vaccine, Covaxin, by Bharat Biotech, is limited.
As India grapples with a worrying second wave of pandemic infections, Modi, on Wednesday, appealed to the states that lockdowns should be the last option and that economic activity and livelihood must remain least impacted. He also appealed to the migrant workers to avoid exodus to their home towns and get themselves vaccinated wherever they are.