Villages Kahuna |
12-23-2020 08:46 AM |
Yes of course there would have been “strings” if Pfizer had accepted payment from the government. I believe the term that Pfizer most objected to was an option that would have been created for our government to purchase doses of the vaccine without paying for them in advance. Our government ordered and paid for only 50 million doses.
Pfizer told the administration that they should order at least 300 million more doses. Pfizer explained that they intended to sell the vaccine to other buyers if our government did not place the order. The administration declined. Pfizer then offered the vaccine to other countries, which quickly placed orders snapping up the supply once Pfizer received FDA approval. England, Germany and other European countries as well as Canada were the principal buyers.
When it became apparent that the pandemic was worsening our government attempted to place a large order with Pfizer but were told that they were “sold out” until June or July filing the orders from other countries.
All of the other eight companies, including Moderna accepted investments from the World Health Organization (WHO). A condition of those investments were that the 172 member countries of WHO would get preference in buying vaccine from those companies when their vaccines were approved. Because the Trump administration had withdrawn the U.S. from WHO membership, we had no ability to place orders pre-empting those placed by WHO members.
Moderna, being a somewhat larger company and because orders by more financially capable countries had already been filled by Pfizer, has been able to fill U.S. orders after their vaccine received approval earlier this week. That’s why all the news we’ve seen in the last few days refer to people getting the Moderna vaccine; the Pfizer product won’t be readily available until this summer.
Presumably more vaccine will become available when and if the other seven developers receive FDA approval. But for the next several months the U.S. will be limited to getting vaccine from Moderna, until Pfizer fulfills the orders from Europe and Canada.
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