With the prospect of the third dose of the vaccine, which is taking shape in Europe especially for the most fragile people in view of the autumn and given the dangerous rise of the Delta variant which would make greater protection advisable, the pharmaceutical companies are going to collect. In fact, while in the background there is always an open question of the sharing of patents and the distribution of doses in the poorest countries, Pfizer and Moderna would have renegotiated upwards the selling prices to the European Union. The Financial Times had access to the contracts, so far secret, which revealed how the Pfizer vaccine went from 15,5 to 19,5 euros per dose, and that of Moderna from 19 to 21,5 euros. The doses to be ordered for the next few months will inevitably be fewer, as the third dose should not be applied to all vaccinated people: so far Brussels has asked Pfizer in May for 1,8 billion doses, deliverable between now and 2023, while in June it ordered another 150 million doses from Moderna.
The European Commission has not commented on the indiscretion of the Financial Times, hiding behind the secrecy of the contracts. Just a few weeks ago, President Ursula Von der Leyen said that following the latest orders, the Union has sufficient quantities to cover all the necessary doses with the70% of the continent's adult population, that is, about 340 million people. However, prices have risen a lot over the months: even in December, at the beginning of the vaccination campaign, a Belgian minister had let slip the prices agreed by his government on Twitter, and the figures were much lower. Especially that of AstraZeneca, which as is known is by far the cheapest serum and at the time was paid (according to the Belgian minister's gaffe) less than 2 euros per dose, while Moderna was already the most expensive and cost just under 15 euros per dose.
All while in some African countries the percentage of the population vaccinated is still at 0%, and in the best case scenario it does not go beyond 1-2%. Pfizer alone will sell everything in 2021 2,1 billion vaccines, very few compared to the world's population, but which will bring in 33 billion dollars, with the total turnover that will exceed 80 billion dollars in the year, compared to the approximately 70 previously estimated. Just Pfizer is pushing a lot on the need for a third dose, while the scientific community is a little more cautious: meanwhile, in doubt, faced with the fourth wave and an emergency that never seems to end, it has upped the ante.
