Govt inks deal for 11 million Covishield doses with Serum Institute

Govt inks deal for 11 million Covishield doses with Serum Institute

The Indian government has sent the much-delayed purchase order for 11 million Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine doses to Serum Institute of India (SII), according to industry sources speaking on condition of anonymity. With that, the movement of vaccine shipments is likely to begin either by late Monday evening or early Tuesday morning to different states. A few million doses are likely to be shipped in one go from SII’s facility in Pune (Maharashtra). SII is the local manufacturer of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine that has been locally named Covishield. The cost of the vaccine to the government is Rs200 per dose for the first 100 million doses. The deal is for procuring 11 million doses that are expected to cover the first phase of the vaccination drive to inoculate 10 million healthcare workers across the country. Also Read: Yasin Malik, 9 others to be charged in Rubaiya Sayeed kidnapping case The government is keeping a margin of about 10% for wastage. The central government will b…