Covishield vaccine: Govt. commits to buy another 4.5 Cr doses

The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) had approved the emergency use of both Serum Institute of India (SII)’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for emergency use against COVID-19 in India. An expert panel of Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) recommended them for emergency use. Also Read | Serum Institute of India receives purchase order from Govt. of India According to the sources, the government has now committed to buy from the Serum Institute further 4.5 crore doses of Oxford COVID-19 vaccine Covishield at a price of Rs 200 per shot plus applicable taxes by April, in addition to a firm order given to the company for 1.1 crore doses. Flights have started ferrying the vaccines to different cities from Pune from Tuesday morning. According to the purchase order placed on Monday, each dose of the vaccine has been priced at Rs 200 and with GST of Rs 10, it would cost Rs 210. On behalf of Union Health Ministry, the HLL Lifecare Limited, a public sector undertaking, issued the supply orders on Monday. According to sources, the first order of 1.1 crore doses of Covishield will be worth Rs 231 crore while the total amount, including the commitment for 4.5 crore doses, will amount to an estimated Rs 1,176 crore at current rates. A letter of comfort signed by Prakash Kumar Singh, additional director, Government and Regulatory Affairs at Serum Institute of India (SII), and RS Manku, vice president (Govt Business) said, “It is further informed that there is a commitment to purchase further 450 lakh doses from Serum Institute of India Private Limited, a manufacturer (through subsidiary Serum Institute of Life Sciences Private Limited) at Rs 200 per dose, plus GST, if applicable by April 2021,” Adding, “This is in continuation to the supply order dated January 11 for supply of 1.1 crore doses of Covishield vaccine as approved by the DCGI vide permission dated January 3 for restricted use in emergency situation,” Also Read | COVID vaccine drive: PM Modi spells out phase one of vaccine rollout