Children’s vaccine becomes cheaper: Cost of Kovovax vaccine has come down from Rs 900 to Rs 225, 12-17 year olds are vaccinated

The Serum Institute of India (SII) on Tuesday slashed the price of Kovovax vaccine. SII has reduced the cost of each dose from Rs 900 to Rs 225. It does not include tax. Kovovax has been added on the Kovin portal only on Monday for the Kovid-19 vaccination of children in the age group of 12-17 years.

The provision of vaccine options was included on the portal on Monday following the recommendation of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI). On Tuesday, Prakash Kumar Singh, director of regulatory affairs at government and SII informed the government that the firm is reducing the price of each dose from Rs 900 to Rs 225. In this, GST will be added separately for private hospitals. Apart from this, a private hospital can charge up to Rs 150 as service charge.

Kovovax Vaccine price has been revised on Covin Portal. India’s drug regulator had on December 28 last year approved its limited use for adults and in emergency situations in the 12-17 age group on March 9. Currently, children in the age group of 12 to 14 years are vaccinated with the biological E K Corbevax, while children in the 15-18 age group are being given Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin free of cost at government immunization centres. A single dose of Covaxin at private centers costs Rs 386 inclusive of GST, while Corbevax costs Rs 990.