Govt signs purchase order with Serum for 11 mn doses of 'Covishield' vaccine at Rs 200 per vial

New Delhi: The government on Monday placed a purchase order with Serum Institute of India (SII) for 11 million doses of Oxford COVID-19 vaccine, Covishield, each costing Rs 210, including the GST, official sources said.

Dispatch of the vaccine is likely to start by late on Monday evening, they said.

According to the order, each dose of the vaccine has been priced at Rs 200 and with GST of Rs 10, it would cost Rs 210.

The HLL Lifecare Limited, a public sector undertaking, issued the supply order on behalf of the Union Health ministry in the name of Prakash Kumar Singh, Additional Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs at Serum Institute of India (SII).

The Covishield vaccine doses would be initially shipped to 60 consignment points from where those would be distributed further, the sources said.

The announcement gains significance as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a virtual meeting with Chief Ministers of states on Monday to discuss the vaccine rollout, scheduled to begin on January 16.

The Health ministry is also likely to soon sign a purchase order for another anti-Coronavirus vaccine, Covaxin, which has been indigenously developed by Bharat Biotech. Meetings for this were underway, a source said.

India had recently granted emergency use authorisation to two vaccines, Oxford's Covishield being manufactured by Serum Institute in India and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin. Both vaccines, according to a statement from the Health ministry, have established safety and immunogenicity.

The country launches its COVID-19 vaccination drive from January 16 in what the Prime Minister has called the world's largest inoculation programme with priority being given to nearly three crore healthcare and frontline workers.