Pfizer offers COVID-19 jabs at 'not-for-profit' price in India

Vials with COVID-19 Vaccine stickers attached and syringes with the logo of US pharmaceutical company Pfizer. Pic/AFP

US pharma major Pfizer on Thursday offered to supply the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at a "not-for-profit" price, media reports have cited. The company had earlier said that it will supply the messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine only through government contracts.

Pfizer shared that it aims to provide equitable and affordable access to vaccines for people around the world. The company charges $19.5 per dose from the US government to supply the vaccine.

The European Union is under talks with Pfizer/BioNTech for a new contract for 1.8 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines to be delivered in 2022 and 2023.

In the EU, Pfizer has significantly increased prices of its vaccine over the last few months -- from 12 euros to 15.5 euros and then 19.5 euros ($23) per dose for orders in 2022-23.

Earlier this month, Pfizer's said its mRNA-based vaccine was more than 91 per cent effective at protecting against the coronavirus, and more than 95 per cent effective against severe disease up to six months after the second dose. Last week, Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla, proposed the need for a third dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine within 12 months of getting fully inoculated.

Meanwhile, India is set to roll out its Phase 3 vaccination drive, wherein everyone above the age of 18 will be eligible to get a vaccine against Covid-19 from May 1.

The government claimed that pricing, procurement, eligibility and administration of vaccines are being made flexible in Phase 3 of the world's largest vaccination drive.

Further, the National Vaccine Strategy aims at liberalised vaccine pricing and scaling up of vaccine coverage. This would augment vaccine production as well as availability, incentivising vaccine manufacturers to rapidly ramp up production as well as attract new vaccine manufacturers, domestic and international, said an official statement from the Health Ministry.

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