COVID vaccine Corbevax to cost Rs 145 for govt, Rs 990 in private market

New Delhi: The COVID-19 vaccine administered for children aged between 12 and 14 years, Corbevax, is being sold to the government at Rs 145 per dose, said Biological E, which is the Hyderabad based manufacturer of the vaccine, whereas it will cost Rs 800 in the private market. 

The statement was made by Biological E on Wednesday, while the country began its vaccination drive for this age group.

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As per a media report in the Economic Times, the vaccine would cost around Rs 800 without taxes in the private market, said Mahima Datla, managing director of Biological E at a press conference. However, it would cost around Rs 990 after GST and administering charges.

Datla said, "Our price to the government program is ₹145, the lowest in the country and possibly the world, " adding, "It's something we take great pride in that we were able to make a difference. We are saving the exchequer close to ₹1,500 crores just by our supplies alone."

India began its vaccination drive for children between the age between 12 and 14 on Wednesday, with Corbevax being the only vaccine approved for this age group. Meanwhile, the country also has begun administering booster doses to those aged above 60. 

Biological E said that it has a plan to manufacture 100 million doses of Corbevax every month. It would be available in the private markets for both children and adults soon, it said. Datla said, "However, the focus right now is to ensure that the vulnerable between 12 to 15 years immediately get vaccines." 

Further, the company said that they have completed trials for children aged 5-12 years and submitted interim results to the drug regulator. It is expecting additional reviews with experts in a while and expressed their confidence in receiving emergency use authorization (EUA) for this age group as well. 

During the clinical trials for higher age groups conducted within 3500 patients, the vaccine showed an excellent safety profile with minimal reactogenicity as there were no grade 3 or serious adverse events seen in the participants, the company noted. It also did not show any severe events in long-term monitoring, as per the ET report. 

Vikram Paradkar, executive vice-president at Biological E, said, "When I compare this to all other vaccines. I am very proud that this is the safest vaccine." He added that a combination of protein subunit vaccine as well as an adjuvant system seems to neutralize the variants of concerns so far better than other vaccines."

The Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported about the Hyderabad-based manufacturer Biological E, who had applied for Emergency Use Authorisation for its COVID vaccine, Corbevax. 

Also Read:Biological E seeks EUA for Corbevax for children

The PM had tweeted, "Today is an important day in India's efforts to vaccinate our citizens," adding, "Now onwards, youngsters in the 12-14 age group are eligible for vaccines and all those above 60 are eligible for precaution doses. I urge people in these age groups to get vaccinated."

During the first day, more than 2 lakh (260,136) adolescents were administered the first dose of the vaccine. The precaution doses of around 2.15 crore (21,544,283) were administered to the identified categories of beneficiaries (healthcare workers, frontline workers, and those over 60 years) for vaccination were administered so far. 

Also Read:Corbevax gets DCGI emergency use nod for 12-18 age group