COVID-19 Vaccines Becomes Expensive in India
From May 1, everyone above 18 years will be considered eligible for getting a vaccination against Covid-19 only through advanced booking on Co-Win website.
On May 1, India would be entering the third phase of its coronavirus vaccination programme, under which all people aged above 18 years would be eligible to get themselves vaccinated. The registrations for all people above the age of 18 years will start on 28th April. The government clearly said , “Only self registration and advance appointments for people between 18 and 45 years of age. No walks in allowed.” Registration process for people above 18 can be done on CoWIN website or the Aarogya Setu. Earlier all vaccines were sold directly to the Central Government. The central government then gave vaccines to the state government, who then allocated them to government hospitals and private hospitals. Vaccines in Govt Hospitals were free but in Private Hospital it was Rs 250 per dose.
Last week the government announced that vaccine companies can directly sell to state governments and private companies. The companies can decide what price they want to sell the vaccines for. Serum Institute will sell Covishield vaccines for ?400 per dose to the States Government and ?600 per dose to private hospitals. Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, will cost ?600 per dose for the states and ?1,200 per dose for private hospitals. The prices for the Central Government would remain the same. Both companies will sell the vaccines to the Centre at ? 150 per dose. But the price of vaccines in Private Hospitals will depend on whether the hospitals impose any additional charge. Some state governments such as Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Goa, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Sikkim, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, have announced that vaccination will be free.
