Govt buys 11 million vaccine jabs from SII

Each Covid-19 vaccine dose to cost ₹200, 30mn frontline workers to be covered in 1st phase

NEW DELHI: The Indian government has sent the much-delayed purchase order for 11 million coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine doses to the Serum Institute of India (SII), according to industry sources speaking on condition of anonymity, with the movement of vaccine shipments likely to begin either by late Monday evening or early Tuesday morning to different states.

A few million doses are likely to be shipped in one go from SII’s facility in Pune, Maharashtra. The vaccine doses would be initially shipped to 60 consignment points from where those would be distributed further, news agency PTI quoting unnamed officials said.

SII is the local manufacturer of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine that has been locally named Covishield. The vaccine had shown 70% efficacy in late-stage trials in the UK and Brazil. When given in two full doses, the vaccine was 62% effective, but some volunteers received half a dose followed by a full dose, it registered 90% effectiveness.

The government has purchased the first 100 million doses for ₹200 each. With 5% goods and services tax (GST) of ₹10 it would cost ₹210.

The order came on a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with chief ministers of all states to discuss the Covid-19 situation and the vaccination rollout in the country.

The HLL Lifecare Limited, a public sector undertaking,

issued the supply order on behalf of the Union health ministry in the name of Prakash Kumar Singh, additional director, government and regulatory affairs at SII.

The deal is for procuring 11 million doses that are expected to cover the first phase of the vaccination drive to inoculate 10 million healthcare workers across the country.

The government is keeping a margin of about 10%.

The central government will bear the cost of vaccination for the initial 30 million individuals (health care and frontline workers). The state governments will not have to shell out money for this group. The Union finance ministry has already approved ₹480 crore for operational cost which is over and above the cost of the Covid-19 vaccine that central government is paying for.

Adar Poonawalla, chief executive officer, SII, had earlier said that the company had offered the Indian government a special price of 200 for the first 100 million doses of Covishield, less than the $3 it had quoted earlier.

In the private market, SII is likely to sell for a ₹1,000 per doseP. The export price is expected to be between $3-5 depending on the different countries the company signs deals with.

India had recently granted emergency use authorisation to two vaccines, SII’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin. Two other vaccines — Zydus Cadila’s ZyCoV-D and Russia’s Sputnik V — are still in trials in the country.

While interacting with the CMs, Modi the two already approved made-in-India Covid-19 vaccines are more cost-effective than any other in the world and have been developed as per the country’s needs. “Our experts have taken all precautions to provide the countrymen with effective vaccines,” he said.

An official told PTI that the health ministry is also likely to soon sign a purchase order for Covaxin. Meetings for this was underway, the official said, even as the government’s decision to approve the homegrown Bharat Biotech vaccine has met with criticism from health experts for the lack of data showing its efficacy.

India is rolling out the world’s largest Covid-19 vaccination drive across the country on January 16, in what Prime Minister

Narendra Modi has called the world’s largest inoculation programme.

Close to 300 million high-risk people are on the government’s priority list; they will be vaccinated in the next seven-eight months. After vaccinating health care and frontline workers, priority will be given to those above 50 years of age and the under-50 population groups with co-morbidities.