Govt rules out the option to choose between vaccines, cites logistical limitations & vaccine availability

New Delhi: The Indian government has so far ordered 110 lakh doses from Serum Institute of India (SII) and 55 lakh doses from Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech that will reach various centres by January 14, health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said on Tuesday. Given the logistical limitations and availability of the vaccine, Bhushan said individuals cannot choose the vaccine they prefer.
“In no country is there is an option available regarding choice of vaccines. We would be staggering our supply orders,” he said.

Bhushan said SII will be providing its vaccine at ₹200 per dose and Covaxin would cost ₹295 per dose excluding taxes.

Out of the total number of doses, Bharat Biotech is providing 16.5 lakh doses of Covaxin free of cost to the government.

Niti Aayog’s Dr Vinod Paul said that both the vaccines available in India are affordable “because they are made in India” and that these are the “safest of the vaccines and its side effects are negligible”. “If you compare it with other vaccines there is no risk of significance. Be reassured,” Paul said.

Sources said that the hope that Covaxin, the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech, is more likely to act against the mutant strain and that was the major consideration for pricing it higher than Covishield.

Bharat Biotech will dispatch first tranche of 2.4 lakh doses on Tuesday to 12 places including Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Odisha, Maharashtra, Bihar, Haryana, Assam, Delhi, Lucknow and Jaipur on Wednesday, sources said.

Compared to the vaccines by SII and BB, Pfizer’s vaccine costs ₹2,800 for two doses while Moderna's will cost anywhere between ₹2,300 to ₹2,700 per dose. A vaccine developed by China has been priced at ₹5,600 per dose while another Chinese vaccine will be made available in India at ₹1,200 per dose, Bhushan said.

The health secretary also said that the vaccination rollout is expected to last beyond one year and in the beginning the vaccination it will be sequential.