MUMBAI, Reuters – Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech have cut the prices of their COVID-19 vaccines as the country plans to offer booster doses to all adults from Sunday.
The cost of SII’s Covishield will drop to 225 rupees ($2.96) a dose from 600 rupees for private hospitals, chief executive Adar Poonawalla said in a Tweet on Saturday.
“After discussion with the central government, SII has decided to revise the price of Covishield vaccine for private hospitals,” he said.
Infections in India have fallen to their lowest in nearly two-years, with 1,150 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, with 83 deaths. The death toll in the country since the pandemic started is 521,656.
SII, the world’s biggest vaccine maker, produces AstraZeneca’s (AZN.L) COVID-19 vaccine under the brand name Covishield.
Of the 1.85 billion vaccine doses India has supplied to its population of 1.35 billion, 82% have been Covishield.
