Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine vials.
Photographer: Liesa Johannssen-Koppitz / Bloomberg
Photographer: Liesa Johannssen-Koppitz / Bloomberg
Pfizer Inc. i BioNTech SE offered to supply South Africa with the Covid-19 vaccine at a $ 10 discount, but the president’s office still described the cost as prohibitive, according to a person familiar with the talks.
The price was determined according to the state of South Africa as a middle-income nation and is about half of what drug manufacturers are. charging in the U.S., the person said, asking not to be identified because the information has not been made public. The fact that companies were conducting a vaccine trial in the country was also taken into account, the person said.
A spokeswoman for the South African Department of Health said the ministry could not comment on prices as an agreement had not yet been reached. Representatives of Pfizer and BioNTech in Europe declined to comment on the ongoing talks, although they stated that they are “firmly committed to equitable and affordable access to Covid-19 vaccines for people around the world, including South Africa”.
The South African government is under increasing pressure from its trade union allies, opposition parties and medical professionals for reaching no bilateral vaccine supply agreement with pharmaceutical companies. Although at least 29 countries have already begun inoculating their populations, South Africa only expects to start receiving shots at around 10% of its population during the second quarter. This agreement has been agreed through the Covax initiative, which is designed to ensure that the poorest countries can guarantee access.
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The country has had 1.1 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 and approximately 30,000 deaths, most from any African nation.
In a statement sent Sunday to Bloomberg News, the South African presidency said Pfizer was one of at least three companies with which the government is negotiating the supply of gunfire. He also said Pfizer has offered 50 million doses for health workers in Africa that could arrive between March and the end of the year.
“Factors that will be taken into account include suitability for the South African context,” said the presidency, which noted that the Pfizer vaccine requires ultra-cold storage. “The cost is also prohibitive.”
Tyrone Seale, acting spokesman for President Cyril Ramaphosa, declined to comment further.
– With the assistance of Naomi Kresge
(Updates with Pfizer’s comment in the third paragraph)