The world's largest vaccine maker, Serum Institute of India, which is also manufacturing the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine in India, said on Monday it expected the government to approve the shot for emergency use in a few days, reported Reuters.
The company has already made 40 million to 50 million doses of the vaccine and will be able to ramp up capacity to around 100 million a month by March when a new facility comes online, Poonawalla said.
Covishield Coronavirus vaccine by Oxford-AstraZeneca will cost Rs USD 6 [Rs 440] per person if one buys from government stores. However, if somebody chooses to buy from a private market then they will have to pay around Rs 700-800. "For the Government of India, it will be about USD 3 per dose, so USD 6 [Rs 440] per person but for the private market it will cost around Rs 700-800," Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla told India Today on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, AIIMS Delhi Director Dr Randeep Guleria said that India will have the COVID-19 vaccine within days. "This is very good news that AstraZeneca got approval for its vaccine by UK regulatory authorities. They have robust data and in India and the same vaccine is being developed by the Serum Institute of India. This is a big step forward not only for India but many parts of the world," Guleria told ANI in an interview.