SII unveils Covishield price for states & private hospitals as India okays Vaccine for all

The Serum Institute of India (SII) unveiled the prices for its Covidhield vaccine doses as the government of India liberalised the inoculation process, allowing those above 18 years of age to receive the COVID jab. Issuing a statement on Wednesday, SII informed that the prices for its Covishield vaccine per dose is pegged at Rs 600 at private hospitals while costing Rs 400 for state governments. SII noted that 50% of its capacities would serve the Centre's vaccination scheme and the remaining 50% will be for the state governments and private hospitals. This is along the lines of what the Prime Minister said in his address to the Nation on Tuesday, that state governments will be able to procure directly, whereas the government will continue its inoculation drive.

SII announces Covishield prices

In its statement, SII pointed out that the prices of the vaccines made in America, Russia and China approximately cost Rs 1500, Rs 750 respectively and noted that its Covishield vaccine was affordable than other global vaccines. SII also urged independent and private stakeholders to access the vaccines via the state facilitated machinery for the next six months and said that the vaccines will be made available for retail and free trade after 4-5 months. 

Vaccine for all in India

The Centre on Monday liberalised its vaccination strategy allowing all adults over the age of 18 to get the vaccination from May 1. Currently, only those above 45 are allowed to get vaccine doses. After a discussion between PM Modi and pharmaceutical manufacturers, the Centre decided that all stakeholders will be given the flexibility to customise to local needs. Moreover, everyone above the age of 18 to be eligible to get vaccine against COVID-19 and vaccine manufacturers will be incentivized to further scale up their production, as well as attract new national and international players.

Over 13 cr vaccines administered in India

India has administered more than 13 crore coronavirus vaccine doses to eligible beneficiaries so far with nearly 29 lakh jabs being given on Tuesday, the Union Health Ministry said. Over 71,000 COVID-19 Vaccination Centres (CVCs) were operational on Tuesday, the ministry said, adding that on average 45,000 CVCs were functional on any given day earlier. Workplace vaccinations have also enabled such a high turnout of beneficiaries, the ministry said in a statement.

The total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country stands at 13,00,27,370, according to a provisional report updated at 9 pm on Tuesday. The beneficiaries include 92,01,040 healthcare workers (HCWs) who have taken the first dose and 58,16,538 HCWs who have taken the second dose, 1,15,59,218 frontline workers (FLWs) who have received the first dose and 58,52,669 FLWs who have taken the second dose.

On the 95th day of the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive on Tuesday, a total of 28,98,257 vaccine doses were given till 9 pm - 19,18,155 beneficiaries were vaccinated for the first dose and 9,80,102 for the second dose. Phase-I of the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive was launched on January 16, prioritizing protection for healthcare workers and frontline workers. The phase-II was initiated from March 1, focusing on protecting most vulnerable i.e. all people above 45 years of age.

On Wednesday, India reported 2,95,041 new cases, 2,023 deaths and 1,67,457 discharges in the last 24 hours, as per the Union Health Ministry. Here are the numbers in detail:
Total cases: 1,56,16,130
Total recoveries: 1,32,76,039   
Death toll: 1,82,553
Active cases: 21,57,538