The vaccination campaign for the COVID-19 vaccine is expected to start in India in the coming days. The Controller General of Drugs of India (DCGI) Dr. VG Somani approved on Sunday (January 3) the Serum Institute of India’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for emergency use against coronavirus. The long awaited approval of the DGCI paved the way for the deployment of these vaccines in India.
Meanwhile, Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla revealed Covishield’s prices on Sunday, revealing that his company has set two different prices for the vaccine.
Poonawalla announced that Covishield will be delivered to the government for Rs 250 and that the vaccine will be available on the private market for Rs 1,000. According to Poonawalla, Serum’s Covishield is cheaper than the vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and is also easy to transport compared to Pfizer’s vaccine. Poonwalla also said his company, which is based in Pune, produces between 50 and 60 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine each month.
The SII CEO said that the Indian government wants to vaccinate more than 130 million people in the country by mid-2021. “We are ready to deliver the vaccine to the government. We have submitted our proposal and we are waiting for the contract to be signed with the government. government. The vaccine will be available to the government within 10 days after the contract, “he said.
According to Poonawalla, the Serum Institute has not yet received permission from the government to export the vaccine. “We have bilateral relations with Saudi Arabia and some other countries. We have requested permission from the government in this regard. After obtaining this approval, we will be able to deliver our medicine to more than 50 countries in the world,” he said.
The DGCI granted approval to Covishield and Covaxin after a Subject Matter Expert Committee of the Central Drug Control Organization (CDSCO) recommended these two vaccines for emergency use in India. It should be remembered that Covishield was recommended for emergency use on January 1, while Covaxin was recommended for restricted use on January 2. On Saturday, the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had said that vaccines would be given free of charge to priority groups in the first phase.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the DCGI’s decision, saying that the approval of two vaccines is a decisive turning point to strengthen an energetic fight.
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“DCGI approval of the Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech vaccines accelerates the path to a healthier and COVID-free nation. Congratulations India. Congratulations to our hard-working scientists and innovators,” he said.
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