The Hyderabad based the Bharat Biotech International Private Limited has reduced the price of its COVAXIN for sSate Governments from Rs. 600 to Rs. 400 per dose, the vaccine-maker said in a statement. The statement came on the 29th of April.
The cost of the COVID-19 vaccine for private hospitals is changed at Rs 1,200 per dose.
Today’s announcement by one of the two companies whose vaccines are allowed in India came a day after the other company, Adar Poonawalla’s Serum Institute of India, cut the price of its Covishield from Rs 400 to Rs 300 in what Mr Poonawalla called a “philanthropic gesture”.
The issue of vaccine pricing has been much debated after the two companies recently put a figure to what they will charge for their products amid the deadly second wave of the pandemic. Some political leaders and activists have demanded universal free vaccination. However, the companies themselves only recently asked for thousands of crores from the centre to manufacture the vaccines.
Krishna M. Ella, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Bharat Biortvreleased a statement which read, “Bharat Biotech is deeply concerned with the critical pandemic circumstances that India is facing at this time. Recognising the enormous challenges to the public health care system, we have made Covaxin available to state governments at a price of Rs 400 per dose,”
The Bharat Biotech company said,”We wish to be transparent in our approach to pricing which was determined by internally funded project development… and clinical trials.”
