Hyderabad: Apollo Hospitals and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories launched a limited pilot programme for the Sputnik V vaccine as part of the soft launch by Dr Reddy’s in India. It is priced in the range of Rs 1,200-Rs 1,250 at Apollo Hospitals.
The first phase of the programme will begin with vaccinations in Hyderabad on Monday and in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday at separate facilities at the Apollo Hospitals. The vaccinations would follow the standard operating procedures as recommended by the Government including registration on CoWin.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr K Hari Prasad, president, Hospitals Division, Apollo Hospitals Enterprises said, “With the opening up of the vaccination programme for the private sector, we have intensified our efforts to accelerate the rate of vaccination through opening vaccination centres across our hospital network and are also in discussions with corporates to undertake vaccination on their premises. We are currently administering Covid vaccine at 60 locations across the country including Apollo Hospitals, Apollo Spectra hospitals and Apollo Clinics.”
“This pilot phase will allow Dr Reddy’s and Apollo to test the arrangements and cold chain logistics and prepare for the launch. We are confident that with the Sputnik V vaccine, we will be able to make a significant contribution to ease availability and access to Covid vaccines to the community at large,” he added.
M V Ramana, CEO, Branded Markets (India & Emerging Markets), Dr Reddy’s Laboratories said, “We are working to scale up the pilot and take the vaccine to other cities, and in the upcoming months we hope to inoculate as many Indians as possible.”
The Sputnik V vaccines for the pilot programme would be supplied by Dr Reddy’s from the first batch of 1,50,000 vaccine doses imported for the soft launch. After Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam, the pilot programme will be extended to Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, and Pune.
Dr Reddy’s is also making similar arrangements with Gleneagles and other hospitals. Through its hospital ties, the pharma company plans to take the vaccine to metros, tier-1 cities and then to tier-2 cities. About 35 cities across India will receive the vaccines as per initial plans.
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