India approves Covishield and Covaxin: Check the prices of the two Covid-19 vaccines

India is expected to begin the vaccination drive against COVID-19 in the coming days. Read to now the prices of two coronavirus vaccines approved for emergency use in the country.

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Sunday gave the green light for the emergency use of two coronavirus vaccines, Covishield and Covaxin. The first one developed by pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and Oxford University, is being produced in the country by the Serum Institute, while the second vaccine which is India's first indigenous vaccine against COVID-19 is developed by Hyderabad-based company Bharat Biotech. The state governments are now preparing for one of the world's biggest vaccination drives as India plans to inoculate around 30 crore people on a priority list by July-August.

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had already announced that the vaccines will be administered to three crore people, 1 crore healthcare workers and 2 crore frontline workers, for free in the first phase. Details of how the other 27 crore priority beneficiaries (which includes persons above the age of 50 years and those under 50 with comorbidities) will be vaccinated are being finalized, Dr Harsh Vardhan had tweeted on Saturday.

Prices of Serum Institute's Covishield revealed

Meanwhile, Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla has revealed that his company has fixed two different prices for Covishield.

Poonawalla announced on Sunday that its vaccine will be given at Rs 250 to the government while it will be available in the private market for Rs 1,000. This is cheaper than the Pfizer vaccine, which is authorized for use in more than 45 countries. In the US, Pfizer vaccine is priced at USD 19.50 (Rs 1,440) per dose. However, it is expected to be a little cheaper in India. Pfizer had in December said that its mRNA vaccine candidate, BNT162b2, will be priced in such a way that "there is little to no out-of-pocket costs" for Indian people whenever the immunisation kicks off.

Pfizer India was the first company to seek DCGI's approval for emergency use authorisation (EUA) for a vaccine against COVID-19. But it is yet to get the green light.

According to Poonawalla, transportation of Covishield is also easier as compared to Pfizer's vaccine. While Covishield needs to be stored at 2-8 C, the Pfizer's vaccine must be stored -70 C, which could be a challenge in India.

Serum Institute is making 50-60 million doses of Covishield vaccine every month, said Poonwalla.

How much Bharat Biotech's covaxin will cost?

Like Covisield, Bharat Biotech's vaccine has to be administered in two doses around 4-6 weeks apart and must be stored at 2-8 C.

Bharat Biotech has developed the first made-in-India vaccine in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Institute of Virology (Pune). The company has already published the findings of the first two rounds, while the third phase of trial is still going on across India.

There has been no revelation regarding the price of Covaxin. However, Dr Krishna Ella, the MD of Bharat Biotech, had said in a conference hinted that the vaccine will be cheaper than a water bottle. After his comment, it is estimated that Covaxin will come at a cost lower than Rs 100.

SII had applied to the DCGI for EUA for Covisield on December 6, while Bharat Biotech had sought the nod for its indigenously developed Covaxin on December 7.