As the second wave of Coronavirus shakes the country, the Centre has announced Phase 3 strategy of vaccination, where all persons above 18 years of age will be eligible to get Covid vaccine doses from May 1.
Now, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has revealed that it costs Rs 67,193 crore to vaccinate all adults over the age of 18 in the country. This value is 0.36 percent of the country’s GDP.
Out of a population of about 133.26 crore in India, the number eligible for vaccination will reach 84.19 crore, according to India Ratings. It would cost Rs 67,193 crore to vaccinate all of them. Of this, Rs 20,870 crore is to be borne by the central government, while Rs 46,324 crore is to be borne by the states.
While the vaccination drive will continue as before, providing free vaccination to people above 45 and others such as healthcare workers, frontline workers, the states and Union territories have been permitted to buy additional Covid vaccine doses straight from the companies and vaccinate people above the age of 18 years.
Vaccine manufacturers will supply 50 percent of their vaccines to the central government and the remaining 50 percent to states and private hospitals. According to the report, it costs Rs 62,103 crore for two doses of 155.4 crore doses (including 5 per cent wastage) at a rate of Rs 400 per dose for all adults. This value is 0.36 percent of GDP.