COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford
will cost $3-4 per shot (RS 219-292) to the government, and will be sold at
almost double the cost in private markets once sales open up, Adar Poonawalla,
CEO of Serum Institute of India (SII) said on Monday, PTI reported.

SII, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, has license to produce
the shot and has already manufactured roughly 50 million doses of Covishield.

Poonawalla told PTI that the company will start selling vaccines to the
Indian government and Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation
(GAVI) countries, followed by the private market.

“We want the vaccine to be affordable and accessible to all. The
government of India will receive it at a far more affordable price of USD 3-4,
since they will be buying in a larger volume,” he said.

Only after meeting their requirements, “the private market will
open up where the pricing would be USD 6-8 per done,” he said.

Poonawalla had put a lot on stakes when he
began mending SII’s assembly line and ‘sacrificing’ products meant for Europe
and America in anticipation of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Also Read | Serum Institute has made 50 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine

SII have produced 100 million doses in a month
and will possible double their manufacturing speed by April.

The government has indicated that it may need 300 million doses before
July 2021, with frontline health workers and the elderly given priority.

Poonawalla said Serum was in touch with the government for the vaccine’s
procurement.

“Initially, we will supply 50 million doses and we will get more
confirmations over the course of the next few days,” he added.

After the regulator’s nod, Serum expects formalities to be completed in
the next 7 to 10 days for the rollout to begin.