Vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.
Photographer: Liesa Johannssen-Koppitz / Bloomberg
Photographer: Liesa Johannssen-Koppitz / Bloomberg
Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE offered to offer their Covid-19 vaccine at a $ 10 per dose discount, but the president’s office was still describing the cost as prohibitive, according to someone familiar with the negotiations.
The price has been calculated according to South Africa’s status as a middle-income country and is about half that of drug dealers. charging in the U.S., the individual said, asking not to be identified as the information was not made public. The fact that the companies are running a vaccine test in the country was also considered, the man said.
A spokesman for the South African Department of Health said the ministry cannot comment on prices as an agreement is yet to come. Representatives for Pfizer and BioNTech in Europe did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The South African government is coming under great pressure from its trade union alliances, opposition parties and medical professionals over the failure of bilateral vaccine-supply agreements with pharmaceutical companies. While at least 29 countries have started protecting their population, South Africa only expects to start gaining views for around 10% of their population in the second quarter. That agreement was organized through the Covax initiative, which is designed to ensure access to poor countries.
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The country has 1.1 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 and nearly 30,000 deaths, the most of any African country.
In a statement sent to Bloomberg News on Sunday, South Africa’s presidency Pfizer said it is one of at least three companies the government is negotiating with for the supply of images. They also said that Pfizer has offered 50 million doses to health workers across Africa that could arrive between March and the end of the year.
“Factors to be taken into account include suitability for the South African context,” the leadership said, noting that the Pfizer vaccine requires ultra-cold storage. “The cost is too much too. ”
Tyrone Seale, acting spokesman for President Cyril Ramaphosa, declined to comment further.
– Supported by Naomi Kresge