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COVID-19 vaccine at ₹250 too low to sustain, Companies ‘feel betrayed’: Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

COVID-19 vaccine at ₹250 too low to sustain, Companies ‘feel betrayed’: Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
COVID-19 vaccine price is too low to sustain, says Kiran Mazumdar Shaw.

While people will be required to pay 250 per shot at private facilities, the COVID-19 vaccine will be administered free of cost at government hospitals.

Written by Longjam Dineshwori |Updated : February 28, 2021 7:27 PM IST

As India prepares to start vaccinating people aged above 60 years and those over 45 with co-morbidities from March 1, the government has fixed COVID-19 vaccine price at 250 per shot at private hospitals and health centres. This includes 150 per dose of vaccine plus 100 service charge. This means the drug companies are getting only 150 per dose. While the news is a great relief to the public, vaccine companies are upset with this government decision. Biocon Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said that vaccine companies "feel betrayed" as the price decided by the health ministry is too low to sustain.

"Covid Vaccine Jab Capped At 250 At Private Hospitals: Government - understand vaccine cos (sic) feel betrayed as price is too low to sustain," she tweeted on Sunday.

Citing that the WHO has agreed to $3 per dose, Mazumdar-Shaw asked why the Indian government is cutting down to $2.

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"If WHO has agreed to $3 per dose why beat them down to $2? We r crushing instead of incentivising vaccine industry," she added.

To accelerate the vaccination drive, private hospitals empanelled with PM Ayushman Bharat Yojana and Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) will be allowed to vaccinate the beneficiaries at their facilities. In addition to all government hospitals and health centres, vaccination will be allowed in more than 10,000 private hospitals across the country.

While people will be required to pay 250 per shot at private facilities, the COVID-19 vaccine will be administered free of cost at government hospitals. The beneficiaries can also choose their coronavirus vaccination centres. They can register through the government's CoWIN 2.0 portal, the Aarogya Setu app, or directly go to the vaccination centres.

While people aged above 60 years only need to show their identification with age, those over 45 with chronic illnesses have to get a form signed by a registered medical practitioner. The ministry has specified 20 comorbidities for eligibility to get the vaccine. This include heart failure with hospital admission in past year, moderate or severe valvular heart disease, coronary artery disease, CT/ MRI-documented stroke, diabetes of over 10 years or with complications, hypertension, end-stage kidney disease on haemodialysis, diagnosis of any solid cancer on or after 2000 or currently on any cancer therapy.

With inputs from agencies