States begin vaccine price negotiations

Eyeing ~150 per dose; set up panels

State governments are drawing up plans to procure vaccines for people in the 18-45 age group and have started price negotiations with manufacturers.

While Uttar Pradesh has sought 10 million doses (five million each from Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech), Maharashtra is looking to procure 15 million and is floating a global tender for this. Vaccine makers, however, say states are seeking to procure the products at ~150 per dose after the Centre said it would continue to get them at that price.

However, Maharashtra is yet to firm up its views on free doses. While Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope had earlier ruled out free vaccination for all, Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik indicated on Sunday the government would give free doses to residents in Maharashtra.

States would have to fund procurement from their own budgets and bridge funding from the Centre is unlikely. “As of now we estimate that the state will have to spend around ~5,000 crore on procuring vaccines. We will negotiate prices with vaccine manufacturers and try to get them at a lower price than the one declared by them,” said a Maharashtra government official.

A total of 262 tankers are expected to be imported. Indianoil plans to manufacture 100 cryogenic tankers at its Nashik facility but the first units from there would be available only after three weeks.

As far as oxygen imports go, so far there has only been a firm commitment of 500 tonnes from a Gulf organisation and about 3,000 tonnes from other countries against a tender of 50,000 tonnes floated on April 16. “The worrying part is these imports will not come immediately and are priced very high. Some of the global suppliers are taking advantage of the shortage,” said a senior government official.

The government is using “linear programming”, an operation research tool, to get oxygen to cities from their nearest sources. However, the states are expected to make green corridors available.

Blaming the Delhi government for bad planning and people dying in hospitals, a Union government official said that the city had been allotted oxygen for 45 hospitals on Saturday, but the state supplied the oxygen to only 17 hospitals.

The orders for setting up PSAS would be finalised by next Friday since their cost remains a huge challenge due to the non-availability of certain materials. Besides Tatas, L&T and Bharat Forge, about 20-30 MSMES may also be asked to set up these units.

The PM CARES Fund has given an in-principle approval for the allocation of funds for 551 dedicated PSAS inside public health facilities in the country, according to a government statement. These dedicated plants would be set up in identified government hospitals in district headquarters in various states and would be done through the Union ministry of health and family welfare.

Apart from Indianoil, which will manufacture cryogenic tankers, RIL has committed to funding around 54 tankers while the Adani Group will fund 15. “The ownership of the tankers would be with these companies and they could be leased to oxygen suppliers or carry medical oxygen being made by Indianoil and RIL,” said the official.