On Day 1, booster doses sold at higher prices

A resident of Jeevan Bhima Nagar, was happy to be the first person to take the Covid-19 booster dose. The drive began for those above 18 years across private hospitals in the state on Sunday.
Vaccination centres at private hospitals remained almost empty on the first day of the  precautionary dose for all aged above 18 | ashsishkrishna hp
Vaccination centres at private hospitals remained almost empty on the first day of the precautionary dose for all aged above 18 | ashsishkrishna hp

BENGALURU : At 9 am in Manipal Hospital on Old Airport Road, Daya Bhat, 54, a resident of Jeevan Bhima Nagar, was happy to be the first person to take the Covid-19 booster dose. The drive began for those above 18 years across private hospitals in the state on Sunday.

But Bhat and those who had taken the booster shot in more than 100 other private hospitals in Bengaluru and more than 800 private hospitals in the State, were also disappointed since they had to pay the older prices of Rs 780 per dose for Covishield and Rs 1,410 per dose for Covaxin, although the cost was slashed by companies on Saturday, as the private hospitals had already purchased the vaccines at the older price and had stocked them.

But beneficiaries can lift their mood since the revised price of Rs 375 to Rs 400 (including GST and Rs 150 service charges fixed by Union government) will be available from Monday. This is because, as per the demands of Private Hospitals And Nursing Homes Association, (PHNHA) Karnataka, and others, the Central government, Bharat Biotech and the Serum Institute of India have agreed on Sunday evening to implement the new price for the vaccines which the private hospitals have already bought at older price and stocked. The excess amount they have paid for the vaccines which they have already bought would be compensated through additional free doses of vaccines to these private hospitals, informed Secretary, PHNHA, Karnataka, Dr Rajashekar Y L to TNIE.

However, Bhat and 179 others still rushed to various units of Manipal Hospital in Bengaluru alone on Sunday, and 97 of them took Covaxin and 83 took Covishield doses. Bhat had lost her 81-year-old mother due to Covid during the first wave in July 2020, and her 84-year-old father who was tested positive too around the same time but had fortunately survived, so her family has been cautious, she said.

On Saturday, the SII had reduced the price of Covishield jab per dose from Rs 600 to Rs 225, and Bharat Biotech reduced the price of Covaxin from Rs 1,200 to Rs 225 per dose.

‘Hospitals purchase vax doses for older price’
Secretary, PHNHA, Karnataka, Dr Rajashekar Y L said that the private hospitals in Bengaluru alone had purchased at least 2 lakh doses of Covishield and had placed order for another 2 lakh doses at the older price.

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