SII is expected to iron out the pricing problem with the Centre in the coming days with a huge demand expected starting 1st May for both, Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.
With the new liberalized program all set to come in effect from May 1 under which all individuals above 18 are eligible for vaccination, purchase from states and selling in the private market also allowed, Covishield’s manufacturer Serum Institute of India and Covaxin’s manufacturer Bharat Biotech released their price lists for India and abroad.
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT pic.twitter.com/bTsMs8AKth
— SerumInstituteIndia (@SerumInstIndia) April 21, 2021
Bharat Biotech – COVAXIN® Announcement pic.twitter.com/cKvmFPfKlr
— BharatBiotech (@BharatBiotech) April 24, 2021
For state governments, Covishield can be procured at Rs 400/dose and Covaxin at Rs 600/dose. As for private hospitals, the former can be purchased at Rs 600/dose and the latter at Rs 1200/dose. Charges for end-consumer will depend on the service that’ll be levied additionally. In the case of state governments, many of them like Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Goa, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Sikkim, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, have announced that vaccination will be free.
It’s also important to note that vaccinations in Central government hospitals will continue to remain free and the price bracket doesn’t apply to citizens above 45 and health care workers.
Also Read: Maharashtra To Vaccinate All Its Citizens For Free: Nawab Malik
Meanwhile, there seems to have row erupted over Covishield’s pricing in India. Originally the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine that’s being manufactured by Serum Insitute of India in Pune, CEO Adar Poonawalla had said that the new procurement price of Rs 400/dose will be applicable to both, states and Centre. The Union Health Ministry in a reply to Congress leader Jairam Ramesh issued a clarification and said that procurement will continue at the pre-agreed price of Rs 150/dose. Several questions were raised as to how could there be different pricing for states and Centre.
It is clarified that Govt of India’s procurement price for both #COVID19 vaccines remains Rs 150 per dose.
GOI procured doses will continue to be provided TOTALLY FREE to States.@PMOIndia @drharshvardhan @AshwiniKChoubey @DDNewslive @PIB_India @mygovindia https://t.co/W6SKPAnAXw
— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) April 24, 2021
According to The Indian Express, even the Rs 400 procurement price — applicable to both State and new Central procurement orders — is higher than the price at which governments in countries such as the US, UK, and the European Union are sourcing directly from AstraZeneca. It is also higher than the price agreed by countries such as Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa for supplies of the vaccine from SII. In most of these countries, the shots are being administered for free, with the governments absorbing the costs.
More importantly, as per global comparison, the price of Rs 600 (around $8) that SII is charging for Covishield is also the most expensive compared to the aforementioned foreign countries. Serum Institute of India in its statement termed the comparison as “inaccurate” and said that the low price initially was based on the funding by countries for”at-risk manufacturing”
We at @SerumInstIndia have for the past five decades been at the forefront of supplying vaccines and saving lives globally. We care about and respect every human life and strongly believe in transparency, and thus we hope our statement below can clear any confusions. pic.twitter.com/YQ3x38BuFL
— SerumInstituteIndia (@SerumInstIndia) April 24, 2021
The high charge comes after Adar Poonawalla’s statement that the company is suffering losses at Rs150/dose rate and that this was a special rate for the Centre for the first 100mn doses. Bharat Biotech, meanwhile, didn’t make any specific statement about cost recovery.
SII is expected to iron out the pricing problem with the Centre in the coming days with a huge demand expected starting 1st May for both, Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.
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