Pfizer will start charging $110 to $130 for a dosage of its COVID-19 vaccine as soon the US government stops purchasing it, but the company expects that several people will continue to receive it for free.
According to Pfizer executives, commercial pricing for adult doses could begin early next year, depending on when the government ends its initiative of purchasing as well as supplying the shots.
The pharmaceutical company stated that it expects people with private medical insurance or insurance through government programs such as Medicare or Medicaid to pay nothing. The Affordable Care Act obliges insurers to cover a wide range of vaccines with no out-of-pocket costs.
According to a spokesperson, the company also offers an income-based aid program that assists eligible U.S. residents who do not have health care coverage get the shots.
The cost will indeed make the two-dose vaccine quite costlier than yearly flu shots for cash-paying clients. As per CVS Health, which operates one of the country’s largest drugstore chains, these can cost between $50 and $95, depending on the kind.
According to a Pfizer executive, the price represents cost increases for switching to single-dose vials as well as commercial distribution. Angela Lukin, the executive, stated that the price was well below the thresholds for what would be deemed a highly effective vaccine.”
Last year, the pharmaceutical company stated that it charged $19.50 per dose in the United States and that it offered three pricing tiers globally, based on each country’s financial situation.
In June, the company announced that the US government would purchase a supplemental 105 million doses in a deal worth roughly $30 per shot. Following that, the government has the choice of buying additional doses.
Pfizer’s two-shot vaccine, which debuted in late 2020, has become the most commonly used COVID-19 precautionary shot in the United States.
As reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, well over 375 million doses of the original vaccine, developed by Pfizer in collaboration with the German drug maker BioNTech, have been dispersed in the United States.
It does not include the additional 12 million doses of a revised booster endorsed earlier in the year. Pfizer made $36.78 billion in earnings last year from the vaccine, which was the company’s best-selling product.
According to FactSet, experts predict that it will earn another $32 billion this year. However, they anticipate a sharp drop in sales following that.
According to the CDC, upwards of 90% of adults in the United States have already been given at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
However, only about half of that population has did receive a booster dose.
