Covid-19 crisis: Vaccines in India’s private sector among the costliest in the world

Prices of vaccines in India’s private sector have catapulted almost six times, while states run out of stock to continue inoculation

India’s private hospitals are charging some of the steepest rates in the world for administering Covid-19 vaccines with Serum Institute of India’s (SII) Covishield priced between Rs 700 and Rs 900 and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin costing Rs 1,250 to Rs 1,500 per dose.

The current prices represent an increase of up to six times the cost citizens had to pay before the Centre relaxed price controls on the vaccines from May 1. Bharat Biotech set the price of its vaccine at Rs 600 per dose, while Serum Institute had announced a price of Rs 1,200 per dose for private hospitals, which is double what states are charged in both cases.

The landed price of Covishield, inclusive of GST and transportation expenses, was Rs 660-670, a Max hospital spokesperson told Times of India. She added that there was a 5-6% wastage due to breakage and the total cost of the vaccine rounded up to Rs 710-715 per shot. After including charges for hand sanitiser, protective gear for staff and biomedical waste disposal, the cost comes up to a grand total of Rs 900.

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The Centre justified its decision for liberalisation of vaccine pricing and differential pricing for the states in an affidavit to the Supreme Court, contending that the pricing policy would spur a competition in the private market and result in higher production of vaccines with affordable prices. Vaccines provided to the states by the Centre will still be available free of cost in government hospitals.

India’s vaccination drive is struggling to keep up with the massive swell in the country’s Covid caseload, even as many countries are providing vaccines for free. According to data on the CoWIN portal, four private players — Apollo, Max, Fortis and Manipal — are conducting the bulk of the vaccination in the private sector.

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The cost of vaccines in India’s private market is one of the highest in the world, being $12 per dose of Covishield and $17 for Covaxin. The 27-member European Union is paying $2.15-$3.50 per dose, while vaccines in the United States are available for $4, according to data compiled by the British Medical Journal. India’s neighbour Bangladesh is paying $4 per shot supplied by SII, as per a Reuters report.

Adding to woes, several state governments in the country have flagged shortages in stocks to continue their vaccination drives. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said the capital had only four to five days of stock left, while Maharashtra’s health minister Rajesh Tope has announced that SII would not be able to supply vaccines to the state until May 26.