Serum Institute announces Covishield price: ₹600 for pvt, ₹400 for govt hospitals

The firm made the announcement after the Centre on Monday allowed Covid-19 vaccine makers to sell their vaccine in open market in India at a pre-decided rate

Published on: Apr 21, 2021, 17:19:42 IST

By Rhythma Kaul

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Serum Institute of India (SII) on Wednesday announced it will sell its anti-Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine, Covishield, for ₹400 to state governments, and ₹600 to private hospitals in the country, adding that in next 4-5 months, the vaccines will be made available in retail and free trade.

A nurse prepares a dose of Covishield. (File photo)

“For the next two months, we will address the limited capacity by scaling up the vaccine production.Going ahead, 50% of our capacities will be served to the Government of India’s vaccination programme, and the remaining 50% of the capacity will be for the state governments and private hospitals,” said SII in a statement.

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The firm made the announcement after the Centre on Monday allowed Covid-19 vaccine makers to sell their vaccine in open market in India at a pre-decided rate.

“SII welcomes the recent announcement made by Government of India’s Ministry of Health and Finance Ministry to accelerate India’s vaccination drive. The promising directives will help to scale- up vaccine production, and allow state governments, private hospitals, and vaccination centres to procure vaccines directly,” the statement further read.

According to the company, it is ensuring that India’s vaccines are affordable in comparison to any other vaccines in the world, considering the global vaccine prices.

Globally, American vaccines in open market currently cost about ₹1500 per dose, Russian and Chinese vaccines cost around ₹750 per dose.

The company also expressed its inability to meet with the demands of individual corporate houses given the supply constraints. “Furthermore, owing to the complexity, and urgency of the situation it is challenging to supply it independently to each corporate entity. We would urge all corporate and private individuals to access the vaccines through the state facilitated machinery and private health systems. Post 4-5 months, the vaccines will be made available in retail and free trade,” the statement read.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rhythma Kaul
Rhythma Kaul is the national health editor of the Hindustan Times. She has been reporting on public health, medicine, and medical research, with a particular focus on how government decisions and health system reforms shape people’s lives. Rhythma has over 25 years of journalistic experience. She joined Hindustan Times in 2008, and has since covered everything from pandemics and infectious diseases to cutting‑edge medical research and climate‑related health challenges. Her stories routinely track the work of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, department of pharmaceuticals, and key national health programmes, making complex medical science and policy accessible to a wide audience. One of her prominent news breaks has been the 2012 Baby Falak case: A two-year-old brutally battered baby girl was admitted to AIIMS-Delhi with severe head injuries, multiple fractures, human bite marks, and burns. The police investigation revealed this to be a case of multi-state human-trafficking racket. She was profiled by The Wall Street Journal for breaking this story. Rhythma holds a Master’s degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. Prior to Hindustan Times, she worked with the India Today Group. Rhythma can be contacted at rhythma.kaul@hindustantimes.com. Her X handle is @RamblingBrook.Read More

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