Serum Institute CEO Reduces Price Of Covishield By Rs 100 For States

Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla announced that the price of the Covishield vaccine will now be Rs 300 instead of Rs 400.

He made the announcement on his official Twitter handle. "As a philanthropic gesture on behalf of @SerumInstIndia, I hereby reduce the price to the states from Rs.400 to Rs.300 per dose, effective immediately; this will save thousands of crores of state funds going forward. This will enable more vaccinations and save countless lives," he tweeted on Wednesday.

As a philanthropic gesture on behalf of @SerumInstIndia, I hereby reduce the price to the states from Rs.400 to Rs.300 per dose, effective immediately; this will save thousands of crores of state funds going forward. This will enable more vaccinations and save countless lives.

— Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) April 28, 2021

However, the price for the Covishield vaccine remains ₹600 per dose in the open market. Meanwhile, Bharat Biotech has set the price for its COVID-19 vaccine, Covaxin, at ₹600 per dose for state governments and at ₹1,200 per dose for private hospitals.

Both Covishield and Covaxin are available to the central government at ₹150 per dose. Adar Poonawalla's latest announcement comes just a few days after the government decided to expand its vaccination drive. Now all adults can get vaccinated from May 1 onwards.

The registration process for the third phase of the COVID-19 vaccination drive began on April 28 on the Co-WIN website.

Registration for 18 plus to begin on https://t.co/S3pUooMbXX, Aarogya Setu App & UMANG App at 4 PM on 28th April. Appointments at State Govt centers & Private centers depending on how many vaccination centers are ready on 1st May for Vaccination of 18 plus. #LargestVaccineDrive

— Aarogya Setu (@SetuAarogya) April 28, 2021

Many people claimed that the vaccine portal crashed in the beginning but was later fixed.

Adar Poonawalla Requests Joe Biden To Lift Embargo on Raw Material Exports

Earlier, Adar Poonawalla had tweeted to US President Joe Biden to lift the embargo on the raw materials needed for producing the vaccines at a large scale.

Respected @POTUS, if we are to truly unite in beating this virus, on behalf of the vaccine industry outside the U.S., I humbly request you to lift the embargo of raw material exports out of the U.S. so that vaccine production can ramp up. Your administration has the details. 🙏🙏

— Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) April 16, 2021

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris promised to send the raw materials, along with other essential COVID-19 medical supplies to India.

Just as India sent assistance to the United States as our hospitals were strained early in the pandemic, we are determined to help India in its time of need. https://t.co/SzWRj0eP3y

— President Biden (@POTUS) April 25, 2021

US advisor Jake Sullivan had a conversation with India National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and confirmed that the United States would send the necessary supplies.

Apart from the United States, many countries around the world have promised to help India in handling it's COVID-19 situation. This includes Australia, Great Britain, Germany France, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and even China and Pakistan. Yesterday, Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen also promised to help India in its battle against COVID-19. Taiwan's Vice President Lai Ching-te too tweeted in support of India.

Saudi Arabia sent about 80 metric tons of liquid oxygen to India, Singapore gave 4 cryogenic oxygen tanks while Pakistan volunteered to send a fleet of 50 ambulances.