The coronavirus has affected everyone’s lives, no one has been spared by this deadly disease. Millions of people have lost their loved ones during this pandemic. Now, everyone is waiting for a COVID-19 vaccine which will “intensify and strengthen” the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Making vaccines isn’t the easiest of jobs and requires a lot of input and scientific knowledge. So amid this situation of crisis, here is some good news to give you a sigh of relief.
It is now expected that the vaccine will be available in India soon. Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla claimed that India’s Covid-19 vaccination drive would begin in 2021 and normal life can be expected to return by October 2021 after everyone is vaccinated.
As far as the price of the Covid-19 vaccine is concerned, it will be available in India free of cost, while it costs Rs 5,000 in the United States and Rs 3,000 in the United Kingdom.
Britain became the first country to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine. According to the World Health Organistaion (WHO), there are currently more than 100 Corona vaccine candidates under development, with a number of these in the human trial phase.
Certain countries across the globe have announced free Covid-19 vaccination for all citizens when the vaccine is available.
During the election campaign, US President-Elect Joe Biden had pledged that if elected as president, he would ensure free COVID-19 vaccination for all Americans. However, there are reports and widespread speculations stating that the vaccine will be made available at a cost price of Rs 5,000 in the country.
Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said that all people of the country will be given free Covid vaccine. Talking about the vaccine, the minister urged people not to pay heed to any rumours. He said the way India became free of polio disease because of the vaccine, in the same way, India will become free of Corona disease.
It is being claimed that the USA and UK are charging Rs 5,500 and Rs 3,000 for the Corona vaccine. Several social media users shared the claim on Twitter and Facebook. However, the claim later turned out to be false and none of the companies are charging Rs 5,500 or Rs 3,000, as claimed.
Most companies that manufacture COVID vaccines such as Pfizer and BioNTech, Oxford University and AstraZeneca, and Moderna are selling the doses at a specified rate. For example, according to BBC, the vaccines in the US cost anywhere between Rs 292 to Rs 2,410 (converted at current rate) while in the UK the cost varies from Rs 297 to Rs 2,481(converted at current rate), depending on the company.
