At a time when vaccination has become an important weapon in the fight against the Coronavirus, comes the news that the vaccine manufacturers in the country have increased the price of the vaccine. The Covishield vaccine has reportedly been priced at 1.5 times the initial rate. The manufacturers of Covaxin have stated that it will provide the vaccine to the state government at Rs 600 per dosage and to private hospitals at Rs 1,200 per dosage. The world’s largest vaccine maker which manufactures Oxford-Astra Zeneca vaccine at Pune has priced the vaccine at Rs 600 per dose for private hospitals and Rs 400 per dose for state governments. It is learnt that the manufacturer of Covaxin is supplying the vaccine to the central government at Rs 150 per dosage and the government on its part is distributing it free of cost. Be that as it may the new pricing of the vaccine could prove prohibitive for the poor at a time when vaccination is of vital importance. The government at the centre and the state needs to absorb the rise in price so that the vaccine is made available free of cost to the citizens. It is pertinent to note that the central government has waived the customs duty for the import of vaccine, medical grade oxygen and related equipment.
