Serum Institute puts out statement regarding criticism over revised vaccine pricing

On Saturday, the Serum Institute of India (SII) retorted to scrutiny over pricing of its Covid-19 vaccine, Covishield, for state governments and private hospitals. It clarified that the initial prices were held very low globally because they were dependent on advance funding provided by certain countries for at-risk vaccine manufacturing.

SII defended its position by pointing out that Covishield remains "the most affordable COVID-19 vaccine available in the market today" they also noted that it the criticisms involved "inaccurate comparisons between the global prices of the vaccine with India".

As India opens up Covid-19 vaccines to all people above the age of 18 on May 1, Serum said it will price its vaccine Covishield at Rs 400 per dose for state governments, Rs 150 per dose for the Centre and Rs 600 per dose for private hospitals.

SII's announcement comes in the wake of backlash it received after it briefed the public about the revised vaccine pricing on Wednesday. The organization released the statement on its Twitter as well to clarify misunderstanding amongst the public.

We at @SerumInstIndiahave for the past five decades been at the forefront of supplying vaccines and saving lives globally. We care about and respect every human life and strongly believe in transparency, and thus we hope our statement below can clear any confusions. pic.twitter.com/YQ3x38BuFL

— SerumInstituteIndia (@SerumInstIndia) April 24, 2021

The Pune-based vaccine manufacturer reiterated that, “Covishield is the most affordable COVID-19 vaccine available in the market today,” it further added, “The initial supply price of COVISHIELD for all government immunization programme, including India, has been the lowest.”

In view of the looming situation with the second wave of infections, the SII stated that it would want to secure sustainability, increase its ability to increase its production capability with the revised pricing of the vaccine.

In its statement, SII explained, "The current situation is extremely dire, the virus is constantly mutating while the public remains at risk. Identifying the uncertainty, we have to ensure sustainability as we must be able to invest in scaling up and expanding our capacity to fight the pandemic and save lives."