The central government has informed that 1.10 crore doses of COVISHIELD vaccine are being procured from the Serum Institute of India (SII) at the cost of Rs. 200/dose (excluding taxes).

On the other hand, 55 lakh doses of COVAXIN vaccine are being procured from Bharat Biotech. The cost of 38.5 lakh doses of COVAXIN is Rs 295/dose (excluding taxes) but the company is providing 16.5 lakh doses of COVAXIN free of cost to the Central government. Hence, the cost of COVAXIN is Rs. 206/dose.

All preparations are on track for COVID-19 vaccine roll-out from 16 January 2021.

26 virtual meetings/trainings have been held with States/UTs, 2360 Master Trainers, 61,000 Programme Managers, 2 lakh Vaccinators, 3.7 lakh other Vaccination Team Members have been trained so far.

The cost of vaccination of Health Care Workers & Front Line Workers will be borne by the central government.

All states have at least one state level regional vaccine store. In particular, Uttar Pradesh has 9, Madhya Pradesh has 4, Gujarat has 4, Kerala has 3, J&K has 2, Karnataka has 2 and Rajasthan has 2 stores.

As on 12 January, 54,72,000 doses were received. 100% doses are to be received by 14th Jan 2021 in all states/UTs.

The government has also highlighted the current status of other vaccines in India-

Zydus Cadila- Phase III trial begin in January 2021

Sputnik V- Phase II & III trials are ongoing

Biological E- Phase I trials are ongoing

Gennova Biopharma- Phase I trial results have been approved. Phase II trials may begin from March 2021.