Covid-19: Finance Ministry sanctions Rs 480 crore for vaccinating first three crore individuals

The Union Finance Ministry has sanctioned Rs 480 crore to administer the Covid-19 vaccine to the first three crore individuals comprising healthcare workers and front line staff.

It means to vaccinate every person the central government would be having a budget of Rs 160, which would include the cost of two doses of the vaccines and other infrastructural expenses, sources in the Union Health Ministry told DH.

The ministry is yet to conclude an agreement with the two vaccine makers – Serum Institute, Pune and Bharat Biotech, Hyderabad. The two sides are locked in price negotiations and the deal is expected to be closed shortly.

The pricing information was conveyed to the State Health Ministers at a review meeting held on Thursday in which Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan discussed the modalities of conducting a dry run in 736 districts in 33 states on Friday.

Also Read | Delays over pricing holds back India’s vital Covid-19 vaccine rollout

While Serum Institute owner Adar Poonawalla had publicly stated that his company would sell the vaccine at a price of Rs 200 per dose to the government and Rs 1,000 in the private market, the financial allocation seems to suggest that the government’s expectation is to buy the vaccine at a price of Rs 70-80 per dose.

It is not clear at the moment if this is the full and final allocation on Covid-19 vaccination front from the Finance Ministry in this fiscal or will there be more money in case of a need. The allocation of Rs 480 crore is over and above what the Union Health Ministry spends on maintaining the infrastructure and training the personnel.

The price ceiling of Rs 160 for every person is half of what the European Union was probably negotiating with AstraZeneca.

Last month, Belgian Minister Eva De Bleeker accidentally let the prices of the Covid-19 vaccines quoted by the manufacturers be known to the world in a tweet, which was deleted after some time. But by then the offer prices of several vaccines to the EU were known.

AstraZeneca offered its vaccine at a price of 1.78 Euros per dose, which is less than Rs 161. The offer prices of other companies are: Johnson and Johnson ($8.5), Sanofi/GSK (7.56 Euro), Pfizer-BioNTech (12 Euros), CureVac (10 Euros) and Moderna ($18).

After the tweet was deleted, neither the EU officials nor the companies have spoken on the vaccine price, citing confidentiality.