Ahead of the nationwide vaccination drive on January 16, the coronavirus vaccine, Covishield developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca and manufactured by Serum Institute of India (SII) will be sold at Rs 200 per dose.
"The price was always fixed. No issues of agreement. The price of the doses is fixed at Rs 200 per dose," sources said. In addition, the Covishield shipment will leave from SII's facility in Pune on Monday evening, the India Today reported.
Each dose of the Serum Institute's Covid-19 vaccine has been priced at Rs 200, excluding GST. An additional cost of Rs 10 (GST) will result in each dose costing Rs 210.
Pune-based Serum Institute of India also confirmed that it has received a purchase order from the Union Ministry of Health, Government of India. While 1.1 crore (11 million) doses of Covishield are being shipped in the first trance, the number may increase in the coming weeks.
The Serum Institute of India has also roped in Pune-based Kool-ez Cold Chain Ltd to transport doses of its coronavirus vaccine throughout India. On Monday, six air-conditioned trucks will be used to transport the first consignment of Covishield doses from SII's facility in Pune to different parts of India. Each container will be carrying at least 280-300 boxes with each box having 1.20 lakh doses of Covishield.
Addressing the nation on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "First Corona warriors and then frontline workers will be vaccinated". India will probably approve more vaccines for the second phase of the vaccination drive, he added.
On Monday, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) also requested all of its 3.5 lakh members to get vaccinated against Covid-19 to show the world that the vaccines approved by Indian regulators are safe and efficacious.
