The vaccination drive for the recently approved COVID-19 vaccines can roll in the country from this month itself. The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Sunday gave approval for restricted emergency use authorisation for the Serum Institute of India (SII)’s ‘Covishield’ and Bharat Biotech’s ‘Covaxin’.
Meanwhile, the Serum Institute of India has come up for the first time its pricing for the vaccine. Adar Poonawalla, CEO, Serum Institute of India disclosed the prices of his vaccine. The Oxford vaccine shot will be sold for Rs 200 per dose to the government. On the other hand, the vaccine will be available for the general public at Rs 1,000 per dose.
Serum Institute has already stated that after six months, the government has targeted to vaccinate 130 crore people in India. Serum earlier had already made clear that the pharma giant 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.
Also read: Covishield ready to roll-out: Adar Poonawalla shares the first look of COVID-19 vaccine
The AstraZeneca/Oxford shot manufactured by Serum is already approved in Britain, Argentina and El Salvador. The ‘Covishield’ vaccine, developed by University of Oxford and pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, is being manufactured in the country by the Serum Institute. Bharat Biotech has developed India’s first indigenous vaccine against the novel virus.