Serum institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla said that they will be selling the first 100 million doses of its COVID vaccine to the central government at a special price of Rs 200 ‘on their request’, he said on 12 January. “After which we will be selling it at Rs 1,000 in private markets,” he told ANI, while adding the first set of doses is meant to support the common man, vulnerable, poor and healthcare workers.
The Pune-based firm has entered into a collaboration with the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca to manufacture the vaccine.
A week ago, Poonawalla had made similar claims to AP. He had said that while the first 100 million doses were being sold to the government at Rs 200, the prices would be increased after that. He said the vaccine would be sold at Rs 1,000 per dose and would be delivered to states within seven to ten days of finalising the deal with the concerned state government.
On the other hand, the first consignment of ‘Covishield’ was dispatched from Pune’s SII in the early hours of Tuesday, 12 January. The vaccines were shipped to 13 cities across the country for a nationwide vaccination drive scheduled for 16 January. Delhi, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Hyderabad have already received the first batches on Tuesday.
Speaking about the delivery, the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) CEO said, “A temperature-controlled facility, ranging from -20 degrees Celsius to +25 degrees Celsius, at our two cargo terminals can efficiently and safely handle COVID-19 vaccines. Both terminals can handle around 5.7 million vials in a day,” according to ANI.
The first consignment of the vaccine arrived at Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, where Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel was present, according to ANI.
Chennai has also received the first batch of Covishield.
PM Modi had earlier said, “We aim to vaccinate 30 crore people in the next few months.” He had said that around 3 crore healthcare and frontline workers will be vaccinated in the first phase of the vaccination. In the second phase, those above 50 and with co-morbidities will be vaccinated.
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