Picture : Twitter / ANI
The much awaited and the most anticipated gift one could think of in the year 2021 has finally arrived! The Covishield first consignment of 54,72 lakh doses have been transported to 13 locations from the Serum Institute of India(SII) nationwide .The vaccination drive for both Covishield and Covaxin will begin from 16 January.
The pricing per dose has been decided in a very sensitive manner so that its affordable across the various strata of the society. Speaking about the price of Covishield, Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute, said his firm is providing the first 100 million doses of the vaccine at a “special price” of Rs 200 per dose (excluding taxes) to the government considering its request. Poonawalla futher added, “once these 100 million doses are out, SII will provide Covishield at the price of Rs 1,000 to private players”.
An emotional moment for the team at @SerumInstIndia as the first shipments of #Covishield finally leave for multiple locations across India. pic.twitter.com/AmrZLesmj5
— Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) January 12, 2021
The government is also procuring 55 lakh doses of Covaxin from Bharat Biotech for the first phase of the nationwide vaccination. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan had said Bharat Biotech is providing 16.5 lakh doses free of cost to the government.
“For 38.5 lakh doses (of Covaxin) the price is Rs 295 each, excluding taxes. Bharat Biotech is providing 16.5 lakh doses for free which ultimately brings the cost of each dose of Covaxin down to Rs 206,” he said.
Telangana: The first consignment of #Covaxin by Bharat Biotech, being brought from Hyderabad to Delhi on an Air India flight. #COVIDVaccination pic.twitter.com/o96ZLBjiqV
— ANI (@ANI) January 13, 2021
Cost of one dose of each vaccine will cost in India:
• Covishield: Rs 200 per dose (for first 100 million doses), Rs 1,000 per dose thereafter at private outlets
• Covaxin: Rs 206 per dose
• Pfizer-BioNTech: Rs 1,431 per dose
• Moderna: Rs 2,348 to Rs 2,715 per dose
• Sinopharm: less than Rs 5,650 per dose
• Sinovac Biotech: Rs 1,027 per dose
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it clear that health workers from government or private sectors would be the first one to recieve the vaccine. Along with them safai karamcharis, other frontline workers such as police personnel, para- militery guards, disaster management volunteers and others associated with the containment and surveillance will receive the vaccine first. The second round will cover population above 50 years or people with comorbidities.
Both the vaccines have brought a ray of hope among the people and even with a greater grit to fight the menace of Coronavirus. The vaccines manufactured in India have boosted the confidence of our scientists and doctors.
