State Governments Can Buy COVID Vaccines From 1 May: Centre

SII fixed the price of Covishield vaccine at Rs 400 per dose for state governments.

Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) on Wednesday, 21 April, announced that it had fixed the price of their Covishield vaccine at Rs 600 per dose for private hospitals and Rs 400 per dose for state governments.

(Photo: IANS)

The central government clarified on Thursday, that state governments will be able to procure COVID vaccines directly from the manufactures from 1 May itself, as per the ‘Liberalised Pricing and Accelerated National Covid-19 Vaccination Strategy’.

In a press release by the Government of India, it was clarified that reports suggesting that state governments will not be able to procure vaccine from Serum Institute of India (SII) since SII has contracted all its production till 25 May to the Centre, are based on “incorrect facts”.

Background

State governments will be free to purchase the vaccine doses from the vaccine manufacturers.

A key feature of the Phase 3 strategy is that the “Vaccine manufacturers would supply 50 percent of their monthly Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) released doses to Government of India and would be free to supply remaining 50% doses to State Governments and in the other than Govt. of India channel”.

PM Modi on Monday, had announced the decision to permit everyone above 18 years of age to be vaccinated from 1 May onwards. The decision came after Prime Minister Modi chaired a meeting with leaders from the pharmaceutical industry.

Following the announcement of the Phase 3 strategy, SII on Wednesday, announced that it had fixed the price of their Covishield vaccine at Rs 600 per dose for private hospitals and Rs 400 per dose for state governments.

Though the move allowing adults to be vaccinated was appreciated, several Chief Ministers and experts questioned the free pricing and said that the central government was disowning its own responsibility.