New Delhi: The Union government has issued a purchase order for five crore doses of Corbevax Covid-19 vaccine, Rs 145 per unit, with Hyderabad based Biological E, PTI reported.
Sources from the government said that the public sector undertaking, HLL Lifecare Limited, issued the supply order for Union Health Ministry. The company is supposed to deliver the product by February, as per the order.
The order read that "The cost implication of five crores dosed of Corbevax at the rate of Rs 145 per dose plus GST as applicable come to Rs 725 plus GST as applicable. In this regard, it is also stated that Rs 1,500 crore has been released as advance vide sanction order dated June 2, 2021, to HLL Lifecare Limited for procurement of Corbevax from Biological E Limited,"
Sources said that the beneficiaries of the vaccine have not yet decided, but the government is discussing increasing the beneficiaries of precaution doses as well as immunizing children aged below 15 since it is administered only on frontline workers of Covid-19 resistance in the country.
The government informed Parliament that broadening eligible beneficiaries for the third dose will be according to the NTAGI recommendation based on available evidence.
Corbevax is India's indigenously developed RBD protein sub-unit vaccine approved by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for emergency use in December last year. The Intramuscular vaccine is jabbed twice in 28 days and has to be stored between 2 and 8 degrees Celcius. Single-dose of the vaccine is 0.5 ml, which has done clinical trial phases one and two of three in the country.