In a significant development, Serum Institute of India (SII) on Wednesday announced prices of its Covishield vaccines ahead of May 1, when covid-19 vaccine shots will be opened for everyone above 18 years.
Following the Center’s orders, Serum Institute of India manufactured Covishield has been capped at Rs. 400 for state governments and Rs. 600 for private hospitals.
The company said 50 percent of its capacities will serve the government of India’s vaccination programme, and the remaining 50 percent capacity will be for state governments and private hospitals. “For the next two months, we will address the limited capacity by scaling up the vaccine production,” it said in a statement.
The Covishield shot as such is cheaper than the international vaccines. While American vaccines cost Rs 1,500 per dose, Chinese and Russian vaccines cost Rs 750 per dose.
The second wave is rapidly increasing the cases in the country, with supplies running short the only hope is to increase the vaccination drive. The Centre on Monday liberalised its vaccination strategy allowing all adults over the age of 18 to get the vaccination from May 1. Currently, only those above 45 are allowed to get vaccine doses.
