Government places order for 11 million doses of Covishield

New Delhi: The government on Monday placed a purchase order with Serum Institute of India (SII) for 11 million doses of Oxford Covid-19 vaccine, Covishield, each costing Rs 210, including the GST, official sources said. Dispatch of the vaccine is likely to start by late Monday evening, they said.

According to the order, each dose of the vaccine has been priced at Rs 200 and with GST of Rs 10 it would cost Rs 210. The HLL Lifecare Limited, a public sector undertaking, issued the supply order on behalf of the Union Health Ministry in the name of Prakash Kumar Singh, Additional Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs at Serum Institute of India (SII).

The Covishield vaccine doses would be initially shipped to 60 consignment points from where those would be distributed further, the sources said. 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. Meetings for this was underway, a source said.