Private facilities likely to charge ₹250 for vaccine

The government is expected to fix the price of COVID-19 vaccine provided at private facilities at ₹250 per dose, according to reports.

Government centres will continue to inoculate citizens free of cost while the price at private facilities will be fixed at ₹250, the reports said.

The Union health ministry will make an announcement in this regard on Saturday (February 27) or Sunday.

Union minister Prakash Javadekar had on Wednesday confirmed that those who want to get vaccinated at private centres in the second phase of the government’s inoculation drive from March 1 will have to pay for the jabs. “The amount will be decided by the health ministry within the next three to four days, as they are in discussion with manufacturers and hospitals,” the minister had said at a briefing following a Cabinet meeting.

Also read: India steals a march over China in vaccine diplomacy

The ₹250 price will be inclusive of ₹100 service charge.

“There will be no capping, there will be one fixed price,” India Today TV quoted a source as saying.

The health ministry said on Friday that the cumulative number of doses administered to healthcare and frontline workers has crossed 1.37 crore.

A total of 1,37,56,940 doses have been given through 2,89,320 sessions – 66,37,049 to healthcare workers who got their first dose, 22,04,083 to HCWs who received their second dose, and 49,15,808 to frontline workers who were administered their first dose.

“Total 2,84,297 vaccine doses were given till 6pm on Friday, the 42nd day of the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination, out of which 1,13,208 beneficiaries were vaccinated for first dose and 1,71,089 HCWs received second dose of vaccine as per the provisional report,” the ministry said in a statement.