"To the Government of India, we will still maintain a very reasonable price, but it will be a little bit more than Rs 200 which is our cost price. So, we decided not to make any profit on the first 100 million doses, as we wanted to support the nation and the Government of India," Poonawalla said.
Talking about the challenge of bringing the vaccine to common man, SII CEO said, "We make 70-80 million doses every month. Planning is underway to see how many will be given to India and foreign countries. The health ministry has made logistics plans. We also have partnership with private players for trucks, vans, and cold storages."
Further speaking about distribution of Covishield to other countries, Poonawalla said that various countries have written to Prime Minister's Office (PMO) seeking supply of SII vaccine. However, he said that the company will try to keep everyone happy, but its priority is to take care of India's population as well.
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Meanwhile, country's civil aviation sector swung into action on Tuesday for providing the expeditious logistical support to the roll-out of India's mega anti-Covid vaccination drive. Accordingly, nine flights operated by various domestic airlines ferried 56.5 lakh doses from Pune to Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Shillong, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Bhubaneswar, Patna, Bengaluru, Lucknow and Chandigarh.
Last week, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued guidelines to airlines and other aircraft operators for transportation of Covid-19 vaccines. As per the guidelines, authorised airlines can carry the vaccine packed in dry ice in the passenger or the cargo cabin.