IT Correspondent
Pune, April 21:
The Pune based Serum Institute of India (SII), a premier vaccine manufacturing company on Wednesday announced that it will price its Covishield vaccine at Rs 600 per dose for private hospitals and Rs 400 per dose for state governments.
In a statement, SII said that, “for the next two months, we will address the limited capacity by scaling up the vaccine production. Going ahead, 50% of our capacities will be served to the Government of India’s vaccination program, and the remaining 50% of the capacity will be for the state governments and private hospitals.”
Comparing the prices with the other vaccines in the world, SII has stated that while American vaccines are priced at Rs 1,500, Russian and Chinese vaccines would cost Rs 750 per dose, making “Covishield” a cheaper option. However, the vaccine price will remain at Rs 150 per dose for the Centre.
Of the 12.76 crore vaccine doses administered so far, the “Covishield” comprises over 90% of the vaccine doses, according to government data on Wednesday. Of this, 15 states and union territories have given only “Covishield”.
In an order earlier this week, the Centre announced that all above 18 years of age are eligible for vaccination from May first. As it liberalised the vaccination drive, the government allowed states, private hospitals and industrial establishments to procure the vaccine doses directly from manufacturers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday urged India’s vaccine manufacturers to continuously scale up their production capacity to vaccinate all Indians in the shortest possible time. Interacting with vaccine manufacturers from across the country via video conferencing, PM Modi said the private sector will play an even more active role in the vaccination drive in the coming days and that this will require better coordination between hospitals and the industry.
In another significant move, the Centre has approved advance funds of Rs 3,000 crore for the Serum Institute and Rs 1,500 crore for Bharat Biotech, which is producing the “Covaxin” shots. On the other hand, Johnson & Johnson has applied to India’s drug regulator seeking permission to conduct phase-III clinical trial of its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine in India while also seeking an import licence. J & J said the company has sought an early meeting of the subject expert committee on COVID-19 of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) to take a decision on its application.
In yet another development the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Wednesday said that indigenously-developed “Covaxin” made by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, neutralises multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2 and effectively neutralises the double mutant, reported in many parts of the country. “ICMR study shows #COVAXIN neutralises against multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2 and effectively neutralises the double mutant strain as well,” the ICMR tweeted.
This development comes amid the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic being witnessed across the country. As per the union health ministry, India on Wednesday crossed a landmark with more than 12 crore people administered with doses of COVID-19 vaccines. In the meanwhile, on Wednesday India recorded nearly 3 lakh fresh cases in its biggest jump so far. The death toll has also gone up by over 2,000 in a day.
