Pricey jabs by private hospitals sting citizens

Hyderabad: Ranging from Rs 600 to Rs 1,500, the price of Covid vaccine in Hyderabad's private sector is among the costliest. The price of vaccines shot up twice to six times in a day regardless of its brand. Vaccines now range from Rs 980 - Rs 1250 for Covishield manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII) and Rs 1,250-1,500 for Covaxin manufactured by Bharat Biotech (BB).

Speaking on the price of vaccination, Dr Vijayender, General Secretary, Telangana Doctors Federation said, "Initially, the Private hospitals were agreed that they will go for Rs 100 on administering the vaccine, but many hospitals are effectively charging Rs 250-300 per shot as vaccination charges. Which is adding to vaccine cost at Rs 1250 to Rs 1400 in major hospitals."

Priyanka, spokesperson from a corporate hospital said that the landed cost of Covishield is Rs 660-670, including GST and transportation and storage costs but they charge around Rs 1400 per dose vaccination from patients.

Explaining the billing pattern, Priyanka said that,"We also add vaccine administration charges, observation charges in the billings and we observe at least 5% wastage due to breakage and other reasons which will add Rs 250 in billing and then the cost of vaccine per inoculation is Rs 980. The other charges include, hand sanitiser, PPE kit, biomedical waste disposal and others."

However, private hospitals have been complaining that they do not have enough stock to gear up the drive on a large scale. Smaller hospitals are still receiving refusal to place orders. "It's not just a moral outrage that COVID-19 vaccines are unequally available. It's dangerous too. The longer health workers, teachers, social workers and everyone remain unprotected against COVID-19, the greater the risk to health and society. Without debating the pricings, we request people to take the jab, safety is needed," said Dr Ambedker, Osmania Hospital.

Moreover, It is unclear if the cost of vaccine procurement by the private hospitals are the same as announced by the companies. Bharat Biotech had announced Rs 1,200 for Covaxin and SII had announced Rs 600 which has a huge difference in pricing. This price differentiation would bring large profits in black market for vaccine manufacturers, says activists from Hyderabad.