India buys 11 million vials from Serum at ₹200 each
NEW DELHI: The Union government signed an order on Monday to purchase 11 million doses of the Oxford UniversityAstraZeneca vaccine from the Serum Institute of India (SII) as part of the first tranche of Covid-19 shots in what is likely to be the world’s largest virus immunisation programme.
The purchase order, seen by HT, put the cost of each dose of the vaccine at ₹200 plus taxes. Another 45 million doses are scheduled to be bought by the government by April this year, the order added.The cost of the vaccine will remain the same for the first 100 million doses, said an industry executive on condition of anonymity.
A spokesperson from SII said the first shipment will leave the company’s Pune premises at 4.30am on Tuesday.
“When the PM announced that vaccine roll-out will start on January 16, then things had to move by now. We are stick
ing to the timelines and there will be no delays,” said a senior Union health ministry official, requesting anonymity. HLL Lifecare Limited, a public sector undertaking, issued the supply order on behalf of the government.
SII is the local manufacturer of the vaccine locally named Covishield. Two doses of the vaccine need to be taken by an individual 28 days apart to complete the immunisation schedule. Protective levels of antibodies are generally developed two weeks after receiving the second dose.
The tranche of 11 million doses is expected to cover the first phase of vaccination involving 10 million health care workers. The government is keeping a margin of about 10% to factor in possible wastage, said government vaccination guidelines.
The central government will bear the cost of vaccination, and the Union finance ministry has already approved ₹480
crore to pay for the operational cost, which is over and above the cost of the vaccine.
Adar Poonawalla, chief executive officer, SII, had earlier said that the company offered the government in writing a special price of ₹200 for the first 100 million doses of Covishield, less than the $3 (about ₹ 220) it had quoted earlier.
In the private market, SII is likely to price the vaccine at ₹1,000 per dose as the maximum retail price, and sell it for around ₹600-700. For export, the price is expected to be between $3-$5 (₹220-₹367), depending on the number of countries the company is signing agreements with.
The vaccine, which was granted emergency use approval by the national drug regulator earlier this month, is the lead candidate for the inoculation programme that starts this Saturday. Close to 300 million high-risk people are on government’s priority list of vaccination in the coming months.
The Centre, along with states, has already conducted nationwide dry runs to check the functioning of Co-WIN, the software that is the backbone of the Covid-19 vaccine delivery management system.
The government is also likely to soon sign another purchase order with Bharat Biotech International for its vaccine Covaxin, which was cleared by the national regulator along with Covishield on January 3.
The Covishield vaccine is likely to be shipped to 60 consignee points across India from where those would be distributed to various vaccination centres.
The government is putting finishing touches to the rollout plan after issuing guidelines for safe-air delivery of vaccines.
On Friday, the second vaccine dry run was carried out in 737 districts across 33 states and Union territories, and India’s aviation watchdog told airlines and airport authorities to ensure that vaccines are packaged in dry ice and refrigerated material to maintain low temperatures ranging between -8°C to -70°C essential for its transportation.