SII lowers each dose of Covovax jab from Rs 900 to Rs 225 excluding taxes

SII lowers each dose of Covovax jab from Rs 900 to Rs 225 excluding taxes

A day after its Covid shot Covovax was included on the CoWIN portal for inoculation of children aged 12-17 years at private vaccination centres, the Serum Institute of India (SII) on Tuesday reduced the price of each dose of the vaccine from Rs 900 to Rs 225, excluding taxes.
Following the recommendation of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) the provision of the vaccine option was included on the portal on Monday.
On Tuesday, Director for Government and Regulatory Affairs, SII, Prakash Kumar Singh, is learnt to have communicated to the government that the firm is reducing the price of each dose from Rs 900 to Rs 225 plus goods and services tax (GST) for private hospitals. In addition, a private hospital can charge up to Rs 150 as service charge.
The price of the vaccine, Covovax, is learnt to have been revised on the CoWIN portal.
India’s drug regulator had approved Covovax for restricted use in emergency situations in adults on December 28 last year and in the 12-17 age group, subject to certain conditions, on March 9.
Currently, children aged 12 to 14 years are vaccinated with Biological E’s Corbevax, while those in the 15-18 age group are being administered Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin free of cost at government vaccination centres.
At private centres a dose of Covaxin costs Rs 386, including GST, while Corbevax costs Rs 990.

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SII’s Covovax cleared for 12-17 age group at pvt centres

SII’s Covovax cleared for 12-17 age group at pvt centres

The Centre has included Serum Institute of India’s Covovax in the country’s Covid-19 vaccination drive by making it available at private facilities for children aged between 12 and 17. Provision to book slots for the vaccine is being added to the government’s CoWIN portal, according to sources in the Health Ministry.
Each Covovax dose will cost Rs 900 (plus GST), with an additional Rs 150 for covering the cost of services and consumables at the hospitals.
This comes after the government’s technical panel — National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) — recommended the use of the vaccine among children aged between 12 and 17 years.
So far, children in the 12-14 age group could get only Biological E’s Corbevax and those between 15 and 17 years Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin. These vaccines are available free of cost at government centres. At private facilities, Covaxin costs Rs 375 (plus GST), and Corbevax Rs 990.
The source from the Health Ministry said, “The government does not need to buy any more doses for now… it still has around 20 crore doses still.”
With the NTAGI also reviewing whether the gap between the second dose of Covid-19 vaccine and precaution dose should be reduced to six months instead of the current nine, the source said “it should be allowed at least for those travelling abroad”

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