On the 28th of April, the Pune based pharmaceutical company the Serum Institute of India (SII) announced the reduced prices of Covisheild, an anti Novel Coronavirus vaccine.
The newly reduced prices of Covishield is Rs. 300 per doses for state governments. Previously the prices of the SII manufactured Covisheild for state governments was Rs. 400. While the price for governments has been reduced, the prices for private hospitals remained same at Rs. 600 per doses.
“Adaar Poonawalla, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the SII took to Twitter and said, “As a philanthropic gesture on behalf of@SerumInstIndia, I hereby reduce the price to the states from Rs.400 to Rs.300 per dose, effective immediately; this will save thousands of crores of state funds going forward. This will enable more vaccinations and save countless lives.”
The decision of the SII came a day after the Supreme Court reviewed the COVID-19 situation and difference in pricing of COVID-19. On the 27th of April, the Supreme Court (SC) asked the Central Government to explain their rationale over the pricing of the Novel Coronavirus or COVID-19 vaccinations. The matter was taken up recently, after the state governments complained about the high prices of vaccines which would be provided to the state governments from the 1st of May.
The two India made vaccine manufacturers, the Bharat Biotech International Private Limited and the Serum Institute of India (SII) fixed prices of COVAXIN and Covisheild for state governments and private hospitals. While COVAXIN would be sold at Rs. 600 to government and Rs. 1,200 to private hospitals, pricing for Covisheild is Rs. 400 for government and Rs. 600 for private hospitals.
Whereas, both the vaccines for COVID-19 infection are available to the Central Government at a rate of Rs. 150 per dose. Though the SII justified the pricing, it changed the amount from Rs. 400 to Rs. 300.
The newly announced prices would come into effect from the 1st of May, when the state governments would buy doses for individuals between 18 years and 44 years directly from the manufacturers.
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