NEW DELHI:
Serum Institute of India (SII) on Monday received a purchase order from the government for 11 million doses of Covishield
vaccine developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca.
"We have received the (purchase) order from the Government of India on Monday afternoon," a senior SII official told PTI adding that the vaccine would be available at the price of Rs 210 per dose including GST.
Dispatch of the vaccine is likely to start by late Monday evening, officials said.
The
Covishield vaccine doses would be initially shipped to 60 consignment points from where those would be distributed further, news agency PTI reported quoting sources.
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.
Days after Covid-19 vaccines of Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech were been granted permission for restricted use in an emergency situation by the
Drugs Controller General of India (
DCGI), the ministry of health and family welfare announced that the Covid-19 vaccination drive in the country will start from January 16.
The roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine will provide priority to the healthcare workers and the frontline workers who are estimated to be around 3 crores, followed by those above 50 years of age and the under-50 population groups with co-morbidities numbering around 27 crores.
(With agency inputs)