Deprivation of low-income countries with the Covid vaccine as a result of the modernization of the modern company
According to IRNA on Sunday from the New York Times; Investigations by the Airfint data company to track the shipment of vaccine shipments show that the American company Moderna, based in Massachusetts, is seeking a larger and larger share of vaccines following the development of an advanced vaccine with US government funding and scientific assistance. Compared to other corona vaccine companies such as Pfizer, it has dedicated its production to rich countries.
Nearly one million units of the modern vaccine have been delivered to low-income countries in the World Bank classification, up from 8.4 million doses for Pfizer and one for the Johnson & Johnson single-unit vaccine. , Has been close to 265 million doses.
According to middle-income officials, a small number of these countries that have been able to contract with Moderna to buy the vaccine, most of them have not received a single unit, and at least three of these countries have been forced to pay more. Compared to the United States and the European Union. Thailand and Colombia pay more than the original price, vaccines are delayed in delivery to Botswana, and Tunisia has not yet been able to contact the company’s management.
Unlike Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson & Astrazenka, which manufacture a variety of drugs and other medical products, Modern produces only the Covid vaccine, so its future commercial success depends on the commercial success of the vaccine.
Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said company officials are behaving as if they have no greater responsibility than maximizing the return on their investments. It has reached a point where, according to two senior US officials; President Joe Biden’s government is dissatisfied with the modern performance and the unavailability of more vaccines for poor countries. The Biden government is outraged by the US government’s non-cooperation, given the US government’s $ 1.3 trillion aid to modernity and the pre-ordering of 1.5 billion vaccines to secure the modern market before it is approved.
Modernity is now struggling to defend its performance against accusations that give priority to the rich. Managers of the company, referring to the limited production capacity, have said that all the vaccines produced by the company this year (2021), can only meet the orders of governments such as the European Union. Responding to a recent request from the New York Times for details of the few poor countries that have access to the company’s vaccines, the company said it is now investing in increased production to reach one million doses of the vaccine next year (2022). Low-income countries.
Moderna CEO Stephanie Bensel lamented the lack of access to the company’s vaccines for most underprivileged citizens, blaming the US government for not investing more in expanding production capacity, adding that the company’s product price is based on order. And the enjoyment of each country is determined.
According to the two high-ranking officials, who wished to remain anonymous, modern administrators are consulting with the government on selling low-cost vaccines to the federal government that can be donated to less vulnerable countries, and Pfizer has agreed to this.
Nearly a year after the start of vaccination in Western countries, in recent months the focus has shifted to severe vaccine shortages in many parts of the world, with less than 10 percent of citizens in dozens of poor countries by September 30 (October 8). Most of them are vaccinated in Africa and the Middle East.
Although last year’s clinical trials showed the same effect of modernity and pfizer, a newer study found that the modernized vaccine is more effective, gives longer-term immunity to recipients, and is easier to transport and store.
Little is known about the details of Moderna’s contracts with governments and countries, but none of the 22 countries in the world, along with the European Union, to which Moderna has vaccinated, are lacking, with only Philippine as a low-income country. It is located in the middle. A handful of governments have announced the price of modern vaccines, with each vaccine costing the US government $ 1 billion to $ 300 million to make and produce the vaccine, $ 15 to $ 16 and a half for The European Union is valued at $ 22.60 to $ 25.50. But Botswana, Thailand and Colombia, which are above the middle-income level in the World Bank, have announced that they have paid $ 27 to $ 30 for each vaccine.
Although Moderna has in some cases offered relatively low-cost vaccines to relatively low-income countries, it has been conditional on the delivery of current orders from other countries. The company offered to sell the vaccine to the African Union in May for $ 10 per dose, but on condition that it be delivered next year, which led to the breakdown of negotiations.
The company expects to generate at least $ 20 billion in vaccine sales this year, making it one of the most valuable pharmaceutical products in history. The value of the modern market has tripled to more than $ 120 billion this year, with two of its founders and one of its early founders entering the Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans this month (October). .
In early 2020, at the same time as the widespread coronavirus epidemic, the company raised $ 900,000 from a non-profit organization called the Innovation Coalition to prepare to prevent the epidemic, at the cost of testing the safety of its newly designed vaccine using technology. Although Moderna agreed in May to supply up to 34 million doses of the vaccine this year and 466 million doses next year to the United Nations Kovacs program to vaccinate low-income citizens around the world, it has yet to These orders did not work, and Kovacs was only able to distribute the tens of millions of modern doses received from the United States.
The Tunisian government has not been able to contact the company’s management to provide the vaccine since last year. The Thai government, where 32 percent of its citizens have been fully vaccinated, has paid $ 28 million for a single order for vulnerable people, with deliveries set to begin next year. Botswana’s order for 500,000 vaccines at a cost of about $ 29 per vaccine to vaccinate nearly 10 percent of its citizens was scheduled to be delivered in August, but has not yet been implemented.
Colombia has ordered 10 million doses of the modern vaccine for about $ 30 per dose, apparently including transportation and support costs, and officials say it is the most expensive Covid vaccine the South American country has ever ordered. . The first shipment, which was scheduled to be delivered in early June, was delayed in August and has so far delivered a total of 2.3 million modern Crona vaccines.
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