New Delhi: The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine may be priced in India under $10 dollars or Rs 730, sources have said. “It is a single-digit price per dose,” said a source, as quoted by media reports. “This is a not-for-profit price for the government’s immunisation programme.” This is almost half the price of Pfizer vaccine in developed markets like the US, UK, and EU. The said price could also be the lowest price for the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine globally.
The Pfizer COVID vaccine is sold in the United States for $19.5 ( Rs 1,423) a dose, while in the United Kingdom it costs around $21 (Rs 1,532). Pfizer’s price in the European Union was around $18.9 a dose earlier, but price negotiations are underway for a higher price of $23.2 (Rs 1,693) a dose. Thus, the price for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in India could be among the lowest in the world.
The US pharmaceutical major is now in discussions with the Government of India for supplying the Pfizer vaccine.
A Pfizer spokesperson said, “Pfizer has offered to make the required doses of our Covid-19 vaccine available at a not-for-profit price for India, as for all low and lower-middle income countries, once we have the necessary regulatory clearance. Currently, as our discussions with the government of India are ongoing and confidential, we cannot provide further details.”
Meanwhile, the Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V is priced in India at Rs 995 a dose (inclusive of taxes) in the private market.
When sold to private hospitals, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin costs Rs 1200/dose and Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield, manufactured by Serum Institute of India, is priced at Rs 600/dose.The Centre procures Covishield and Covaxin at Rs 150 a dose at the moment.