Hyderabad-based vaccine maker Bharat Biotech on Saturday, 24 April, announced that it had priced its COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin at Rs 600 for state governments and Rs 1,200 for private hospitals per shot.
Exports will be priced at $15-$20 per shot, a release from the vaccine maker said on Saturday.
The Centre meanwhile will continue procuring the vaccine at Rs 150 per dose, the release stated, adding that Bharat Biotech has reserved 50 percent of their capacities for supplying the government.
Row Over SII Pricing
Bharat Biotech’s announcement comes days after the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) 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.
SII had said the prices were still more affordable than foreign vaccines, which cost between Rs 750 to Rs 1,500 per dose.
It may be noted here that Bharat Biotech’s pricing is higher than that of SII.
SII’s announcement of the prices had started off a pricing row, with the vaccine being touted as one of the most expensive in the world, and the Opposition lashing out at differential prices for the Centre and state governments.
Comparing prices of vaccinations in the global market, The Indian Express on Saturday reported that at Rs 600 ($8 per shot ) Covishield “is more than its price in any major global market”.
The report further pointed out that “the 27-nation EU is paying $2.15-$3.50 for a shot of the vaccine across locations in Europe, a high-cost manufacturing destination.”
The pricing is at Rs 600 per dose for private hospitals, the report further noted, despite the fact that Mr Poonawalla had said that his company was making a profit even at a price of Rs 150 per dose.
However, on Saturday, in a press statement, Serum Institute’s CEO Adar Poonawalla claimed that Covishield was the “most affordable COVID-19 vaccine available in the market today”.
Poonawalla said, “The initial prices were kept very low globally as it was based on advance funding given by those countries for at-risk vaccine manufacturing. The initial supply price of Covishield for all government immunisation programme, including India, has been the lowest.”
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