COVID-19 vaccine: Centre raises procurement price of Covaxin, Covishield

The Centre has hiked the procurement price of coronavirus vaccines to be supplied by Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute of India (SII). 

The price for a dose of Covishield has been increased to Rs 205 plus 5% GST, whereas the price for a dose of Covaxin has been hiked to Rs 215 plus 5% GST, sources told CNBC-TV18. 

The Centre will procure 28.5 crore of Covaxin doses from Bharat Biotech and 37 crore of Covishield doses from SII by December, they added. Meanwhile, around 40 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have so far been administered in the country, comprising 38.79 crore on Friday (July 16), according to the Union health ministry.

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A total of 16,35,591 beneficiaries in the age group of 18-44 years received the first dose and 2,11,553 were administered the second dose of the vaccine on Friday, the ministry said.

Cumulatively, 12,16,46,175 people in the 18-44 age group have received the first dose and 45,98,664 have received the second dose across the 37 states and Union Territories since the start of the third phase of the nationwide vaccination drive, it added.

Eight states -- Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka and Maharashtra -- have vaccinated more than 50 lakh beneficiaries each in the 18-44 age group for the first dose of the vaccine.

Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Uttarakhand and West Bengal have vaccinated more than 10 lakh beneficiaries each in the 18-44 age group for the first dose of the vaccine, the ministry said.

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