Pfizer and Moderna are raising the price of their coronavirus vaccine in the European Union, which is justified by the fact that the manufacturers had to adapt their product to the newer virus variants, the French government confirmed on Monday.
"You have to look at this rationally, the contracts adapted to the newer versions will probably be a bit more expensive, not only for the EU, but for all customers," French Secretary of State for European Affairs Clément Beaune told Radio Francia Internationale (RFI).
The British daily Financial Times reported on Sunday that Pfizer will raise the price of a dose from 15.5 to 19.5 euros, and a dose of Moderna will cost 21.5 euros instead of 19 euros.
“The vaccines that the EU is currently discussing with Pfizer and other laboratories are not the same as the previous first-generation vaccines. We will adapt them to the latest virus mutations as required by the contracts under negotiation. We also want to achieve that the essential part of production is made up of European products, which means almost three hundred components," he said.
Beaune emphasized the importance of transparency in relation to contracts, stressing that they should be made public after finalisation. He added that it is not so "shocking" that pharmaceutical companies seek to make a profit in the case of coronavirus vaccines as well.
Finally, he said that deliveries will be more accurate in the future than they were at the beginning of the year, and failure to meet the deadlines will cost the companies involved a lot of money.
Last Tuesday, the European Commission reported that the proportion of fully vaccinated people will reach at least 70 percent in the EU by the end of the summer. Back in May, the Brussels board announced that more than one billion doses of the four approved vaccines would be delivered to the community by the end of September.
Source: MTI
MTI/Tibor Rosta
