Ahead Of Booster Dose Rollout For 18+ Category, Covaxin & Covishield Prices Dropped To Rs 225
With hours left for the rollout of the third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to all eligible adults, Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech reduced the price of their vaccines to Rs 225 per shot for private hospitals.
Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech was previously selling its COVAXIN to hospitals for Rs 1,200 and Pune-based SII had earlier announced a discounted price of Rs 600 for its Covishiled.
"We are pleased to announce that after discussion with the central government, SII has decided to revise the price of COVISHIELD vaccine for private hospitals from Rs 600 to Rs 225 per dose," SII CEO Adar Poonawalla said in a tweet.
"We welcome the decision to make available precautionary dose for all adults. In consultation with the Central Government, we have decided to revise the price of COVAXIN from Rs 1,200 to Rs 225 per dose, for private hospitals," Bharat Biotech Co-Founder Joint Managing Director Suchitra Ella said in a tweet.
No free booster dose for all
Unlike the first two doses, which were also administered through the government vaccination centres, the precautionary dose for those in the 18-59 age group is not free and is available only in private hospitals as of now.
Rs 150 administration charges
The government has also said that private vaccination centres can charge a maximum of Rs 150 per dose as service charge over and above the cost of the vaccine.
While making the announcement on Friday, the Health Ministry had said that the ongoing free vaccination programme through government vaccination centres for the first and second dose to the eligible population as well as?precaution dose?to healthcare workers, frontline workers and 60+ population would continue.
According to the government, the precautionary dose will be of the same COVID-19 vaccine as the one used for the administration of the first two doses.
Booster dose needed to fight Omicron
Meanwhile, a study done by the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune has indicated that neutralising antibody levels waned after six months in those who were fully vaccinated against the coronavirus with Covishield, Covaxin and a mix of both Covishield as the first dose and Covaxin as the second dose ¨C with regard to Omicron variant.
Dr Pragya Yadav, a scientist at the NIV, said that the findings have so far highlight the need for booster dose in the context of Omicron variant.
"The gradual shift of VoCs from Delta to Delta-sub-lineage to Omicron, along with the observed waning of immunity post six months of vaccination, has prompted discourses around devising an innovative vaccination strategy. The present investigation findings contribute meaningfully to such discussions. Regardless of the findings of this study, longitudinal monitoring for breakthrough infections should remain a part of any surveillance system," the study stated.
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