Covishield vaccine: Govt is buying each dose for ₹210 from SII
The government is procuring each dose of Covishield vaccine for only ₹210 per from SII, MoS (Health) Ashwini Choubey said. The response came after he was asked whether they are aware that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is being sold to EU nations at a comparatively lower price.
The government is procuring each dose of Covishield vaccine for only ₹210 per from Serum Institute of India, Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey said in Lok Sabha while responding to a question.
Ashwini Choubey's response came after he was asked whether the government is aware that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is being sold to European Union nations at a comparatively lower price than that to India.
The price of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine across the world is in the range of between $ 4 and $5.25. Meanwhile, for COVAX AMC facility that pools the demand and supplies for 191 participating countries, including European Union nations, the price is $3 per dose to $3.15 per dose. This is because the advance payment done to the vaccine manufacturer, much before their vaccine completed the clinical trial and obtained licensure from the regulator, the MoS said.
In a written reply, Choubey said: "The Covishield vaccine by the Serum Institute of India is being procured by Govt. of India at a lower price of ₹210 which is around $2.7 per dose."
Union health minister Harsh Vardhan, meanwhile, said the central government has placed supply orders amounting to a total of 41 million doses of both covid-19 vaccines--Covishield manufactured by Serum Institute of India and Covaxin by Bharat Biotech International Limited. These supply orders also include 10 million doses received from Gavi support through Covax facility.
He was replying to a question in Lok Sabha whether orders placed thus far are expected to cover all the persons proposed to be vaccinated in the first round at the rate of two doses per person.
“The orders placed so far are sufficient for coverage of on-going vaccination drive for Health Care Workers and Frontline Workers. Procurement of additional quantity of vaccines has also been factored in," he said further.
Till 8th February, a total of ₹960.75 crore have been utilized for procurement of covid-19 vaccines. Further, ₹480 crore has been earmarked as operational cost for covid-19 vaccination drive of which ₹123.49 crore have been disbursed to States/UTs. State/UT-wise details of funds disbursed for covid-19 vaccination, the Lok Sabha was informed.
(With inputs from agencies)
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First Published:13 Feb 2021, 07:01 AM IST
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