Covishield rates slashed for States by 25%; will be sold for Rs 300 per dose now

New Delhi, Apr 28: The price of Covishield, the vaccine developed by Oxford University in collaboration with AstraZeneca and manufactured in India by Pune's Serum Institute of India (SII) has been slashed for States by 25%; and will be sold for Rs 300 per dose now.

Taking to Twitter, Serum Institute of India SEO Adar Poonawalla said,"We have taken a philanthropic decision to reduce the price of #Covishield for states by 25 percent to Rs 300/ dose effective immediately. Doing so in the interest of saving states funds."

As a philanthropic gesture on behalf of @SerumInstIndia, I hereby reduce the price to the states from Rs.400 to Rs.300 per dose, effective immediately; this will save thousands of crores of state funds going forward. This will enable more vaccinations and save countless lives.

— Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) April 28, 2021

Earlier this week, SII, which makes Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield in India, had fixed the prices at Rs 400 for every dose for state governments and Rs 600 for every dose for private hospitals.

Several states and Union Territories all over the country have allocated funds to ensure free vaccination for people over the age of 18.