Serum Institute to sell Covishield to states at Rs. 400, private hospitals at Rs. 600

The SII, which has produced the vaccine developed by Oxford University in India, will continue to sell Covishield to the central government at Rs. 150 per dose.

The company has cited that American, Russian, Chinese vaccines are sold to the private market at a cost ranging between Rs. 750 and Rs. 1,500 per dose.

The announcement came in the backdrop of the central government's decision to expand the vaccination drive to all people aged 18 or more from May 1, in a bid to tackle the massive surge in Covid-19 cases across the country.

The Centre has also allowed the vaccine manufacturing companies to sell 50 per cent of the produce to the states and private hospitals, reserving the other half for the central government.

In an interview with NDTV, SII CEO Adar Poonawalla said his company was ramping up the vaccine production to meet the needs of the vast country amid the crisis.

"We are ramping up immediately and the big ramp-up will happen post-July. But even between now and July we will ramp up 15 to 20 per cent in our monthly capacities.

"Starting by the end of May, there will be 15-20 per cent more doses in the market. After July, it will be 40 per cent... so after July we will cross 100 million doses per month," he said.

Poonawalla had also reached out to US President Joe Biden urging him to lift the embargo on raw materials which are needed to produce a vaccine.