Coronavirus vaccine to cost under Rs 1,000 per shot: Adar Poonawalla
Amid speculations of researchers across the globe making great inroads into developing coronavirus vaccines, Serum Institute of India CEO, Adar Poonawalla has disclosed information on how much the vaccine could cost in India.
Serum Institute of India, which has pledged to make 1 billion doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jointly formed COVID-19 vaccine, has already said that the human trials in India will begin next month while the production could start as early as first quarter next year.
In an interview given to the New Indian Express, Poonawalla said that the vaccine will be made affordable by keeping the cost under Rs 1,000.
"We will keep it under Rs 1,000," Poonawalla said on the subject of the price for the vaccine, "having said that, our aim is to provide an efficacious and affordable vaccine. We are certain that it will be procured and distributed by governments without charge."
He further added, "the vaccine developed by Oxford University is a viral vector type that uses a harmless virus to deliver the genetic material of a pathogen into cells, which is then supposed to create an immune response against the original pathogen. A chimpanzee adenovirus (a common cold virus) has been used by Gilbert and her team to be the carrier. Tricking the immune system to fight back COVID-19, the harmless virus has been inserted with the SARS-CoV-2 virus’ genetic material."
Oxford University and AstraZeneca released the data for the initial trials of the vaccine that is now in its third phase of the trial. Several other vaccine candidates are under trials in India and across the world.
