World’s biggest vaccine maker by volume, Serum Institute of India has around 40-50 million of vaccine doses of Covishield stocked which are ready to be rolled out in the market. Now that the vaccine has been granted regulatory approval by the DCGI, it is most likely that the vaccine will soon be administered among citizens.
Ahead of the vaccination drive, Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla has said that India will not allow the export of the vaccine for the next few months. Notably, Serum Institute has signed a contract with AstraZeneca and Oxford University to develop their vaccine for 60 countries including India.
With rich nations securing the first doses of the vaccines, it is likely that the lower income countries will still have to wait longer for an effective vaccine against the virus which has killed over a million people worldwide.
In an interaction with Hindustan Times, the SII chief said that Indian government is yet to sign a purchase order with SII. Once the deal is signed, they can deliver the vaccine in 7 to 10 days.
Talking about the price of the vaccine, he said that the drug maker has offered a very reasonable price of Rs 200 per shot to the government and only for the government, for the first 100 million doses and then the price will be higher or different. “In the private market, we have said it’s going to be a ₹1,000 per dose as an MRP, and we will probably sell it for ₹600-700. In exports also, it will be between $3-5, depending on the different countries we are signing with, but that is going to come in probably March-April because the government has said no exports right now. We cannot give it to the private market,” he added.
Addressing the rumour mongering against the vaccine, he said that while it is only fair to ask questions, some people go overboard, while adding that nobody is ever going to force anyone to take the vaccine.
