Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala will initiate talks with vaccine manufacturers on Monday, to purchase the immunization drug. The move comes after the Central government directed states to procure the anti-COVID-19 vaccine directly from the manufacturers.
The State government has assigned Chief Secretary V P Joy, and heads of finance and health departments, R K Singh and Rajan N Khobragade, respectively, to hold discussions with the vaccine manufacturers.
The aim is to complete the talks with the Serum Institute, the producer of Covishield, at the earliest. The State has been using Covishield more, which the institute had priced at Rs 400 a dose. The discussion will finalise the distribution process, besides setting a timeframe.
Kerala currently has the capacity to administer 3.50 lakh doses of vaccine daily, but the target could not be achieved due to the shortage of the drug. Initially, the vaccine would be administered to those aged between 18 and 45, suffering from various diseases.
The Department of Health, meanwhile, informed the government that the State has the capacity to store two crore doses of the vaccine. Though vaccines and medicines meant for children, too, are stored, there is enough space for simultaneously keeping 50 lakh doses of the COVID vaccine.
Kerala will have to buy the vaccine for 1.56 crore of its population aged between 18 and 45, for the vaccination drive for them starting on May 1. Many in the age group might get vaccinated from private hospitals. Even after excluding them, the State will have to shell out Rs 1,200 crore to buy two doses each for every person.
The Centre, however, will provide free vaccines for those who had received the first dose. As many as 1.13 crore people aged 45 or above, 4.98 lakh health workers, and 4.78 lakh COVID frontline warriors are to receive the second dose.
As many as 59 per cent of the above 45 population in the State are yet to get the first dose.
