KEY STORY
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Pune: Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla on Tuesday confirmed the Central government has procured the Covid-19 vaccine ‘Covishield’ at a “special price” and that the SII is planning to sell the vaccine at Rs 1,000 per vial in the private markets.
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Poonawalla was upbeat about the historical moment that the first Covid-19 vaccine in the country was being dispatched from his factory. He said that the main challenge of the SII is to deliver the vaccine to everyone in the country by the end of this year.
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Talking about the Covishiled vaccine, which the government will use in its mega vaccination drive, the SII CEO said, “We have given a special price of Rs 200 for the first 100 million doses only to the Government of India on its request because we want to support the common man, vulnerable, poor, healthcare workers and all the underprivileged.”
To Govt of India, we'll still maintain a very reasonable price but it will be a little bit more than Rs 200 which is our cost price. So we decided not to make any profit, we wanted to support the nation & Govt of India for the first 100 million doses: Adar Poonawalla#Covishield https://t.co/bnJc6ToeDD
— ANI (@ANI) January 12, 2021
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“We decided not to make any profit, we wanted to support the nation and the govt for the first 100 million doses,” he added.
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He then announced that the SII will sell the Covishield vaccine in the private markets at Rs 1,000 per vial.
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Adar Poonawalla asserted that he will maintain a very reasonable price for the government even after the supply of the 100 million units, but it will be a little bit more than Rs 200.
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A lot of countries have been writing to India and PMO for vaccines to be supplied from the Serum Institute to their countries. “We are trying to keep everyone happy. We have to take care of our population and nation as well,” he added.
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Talking about the production of the vaccine, Poonawalla said, “We make 70-80 million doses every month. Planning is underway to see how many will be given to India and foreign countries. Health Ministry has made logistics plans. We also have a partnership with private players for trucks, vans and cold storage.”
CONCLUSION
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It should be noted that the first consignment containing vials of the Covishield vaccine was dispatched from the SII in Pune in the early hours of Tuesday, ahead of the January 16 launch of the nationwide vaccination drive.
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Amid tight security, three trucks carrying the very first consignment of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine left for Pune airport to be flown to 13 locations across the country today.
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The locations include Delhi, Karnal, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Bhubhaneshwar, Kolkata and Guwahati.
