Here is how much you may have to pay for covid-19 vaccine Covishield when ready

The entire world is eagerly waiting for COVID-19 vaccines for the pandemic has lasted far longer than what anyone predicted and there is no relief from the rising cases. In India, you may end up paying around Rs 500 to Rs 600 per dose in the private market when the Serum Institute starts selling covid-19 vaccine Covishield.

The world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by volume had signed a pact with British firm AstraZeneca plc. Source - Reuters.

The entire world is eagerly waiting for COVID-19 vaccines for the pandemic has lasted far longer than what anyone predicted and there is no relief from the rising cases. In India, you may end up paying around Rs 500 to Rs 600 per dose in the private market when the Serum Institute starts selling covid-19 vaccine Covishield. This is around twice the $3 per shot it will cost the Indian government as well as the COVAX facility, chief executive officer Adar Poonawalla said at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit on Thursday.

“Government of India will be getting it at far cheaper, probably around $3-4 because they'll be buying very huge volumes of hundreds of millions of doses. So they'll get the access to the price which is similar to what COVAX has got, which is $3 and the general public probably have to pay around Rs 500- Rs 600," Poonawalla said.

The world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by volume had signed a pact with British firm AstraZeneca plc. Under which 1 billion doses of the vaccine will be produced for and sold in India and other low- and Middle-income countries. Poonawalla on Thursday also said that the company plans to apply for an emergency use authorisation from the Drug Controller General of India VG Somani for its vaccine next month.

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“We're basing the assumption of an emergency licensure based on positive UK results. So these are the caveats. That if we get good UK result end of November or early December, we apply for an emergency licensure use. So you have the vaccine for the vulnerable populations by January or February. And then by March or April, for the general public," Poonawalla said, adding that if any of these milestones get delayed, then Serum’s own plans could be delayed.

If the vaccine is rolled out in time, life is expected to return to normal. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates believes that a "lot of things" will be back to "normal" by the summer of 2021 if Covid-19 vaccine approvals don`t turn up any nasty surprises.

"Very likely by the summer, a lot of things will be back to normal... If vaccine approvals come along quickly," Gates said in a television interview on Thursday night.

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