SII announces COVID vaccine cost for Govt. and Public

The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) had approved the emergency use of both Serum Institute’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for emergency use against COVID-19 in India on Sunday. An expert panel of Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) recommended them for emergency use.

Also Read | Finally, India's DCGI passes COVID-19 vaccine

According to the reports, India will not allow the export of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine for several months, Serum Institute of India has been contracted to make 1 billion doses of the vaccine for developing nations.

Adar Poonawalla, chief executive of Serum Institute of India said, "The Oxford vaccine will be sold for Rs 200 per dose to the government while it will be available for Rs 1,000 for the general public."

Also Read | Thailand imposes more restrictions amid COVID-19 second wave

He added that Serum Institute has the capacity to manufacture 5,000 doses of vaccine per minute and already 40 to 50 million doses of the vaccine is ready for dispatch. And vaccines could be delivered to Indian states where they were needed within seven to 10 days of the company finalizing a deal with India’s government.

He also stated, "We can’t vaccinate everybody right now. We can prioritize."

Serum Institute is also negotiating bilateral agreements with individual countries including Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia and Morocco. “So that at least the most vulnerable in the states of our country or in other parts of other countries are taken care off,” he mentioned.

-PTC News