Pfizer says list price for Covid-19 vaccine could be $130 per dose once government contracts end

Don’t let your guard down against covid, ask doctor 4:21 (CNN) — Drugmaker Pfizer said Friday that when government contracts come to an end — possibly early next year — its vaccine against covid-19 will be sold at a price of between US$110 and US$130 per dose. This pricing model is due to increased distribution costs as well as the planned switch from multi-dose to single-dose vials. This is the “commercial list price,” but the company says it doesn’t anticipate that most people will have to pay it out of pocket. He also pointed to its patient assistance program, which helps people without insurance get immunizations. For now, vaccines against covid-19 are still available for free. Pfizer says it expects the price of the vaccine could come into play when distribution and reimbursement shift from government contracts to the traditional healthcare system, as early as the first quarter of 2023. An analysis published by the Kaiser Family Foundation this week notes that Without additional funding or protections, the commercialization of the COVID-19 vaccine would create barriers to access to vaccines, tests, and therapies, especially for the uninsured and underinsured. Two key changes will lead to commercialization: the end of the US government’s declaration of a public health emergency and the exhaustion of the supply purchased by the federal administration. Each change creates its own challenges, and together they “can amplify access problems,” the analysis says. Neither change has occurred yet. The public health emergency declaration was renewed last week for another 90 days, but Congress has yet to act on the Biden administration’s request for billions more dollars of funding to ensure a steady and accessible supply of measures. against covid-19. A large part of the government’s request is a “critical request” for resources to support the development of new vaccines and treatments that can withstand future strains of the coronavirus, said Dawn O’Connell, assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the Department of Health and US Human Services “That would get us out of the cycle of boom and bust in cases,” he said at a briefing Wednesday at the KFF. The goal is to avoid a situation like last winter, when there was a lack of foresight in testing for the delta variant, said Jen Kates, senior vice president and chief global health and HIV policy officer at KFF. Another portion of the funding would go toward protecting the uninsured and ensuring universal access to COVID-19 measures, O’Connell said. According to the KFF analysis, once the measures are marketed, uninsured adults would lose access to free vaccines. But treatments and tests would face the “most acute” challenges, with cost sharing affecting the part of the cost that would be covered by insurance. The transition to commercialization was always part of the plan, O’Connell said. It’s the way other diseases are treated in America. “But the process is complex,” she said. “Regardless of whether we were going to get the Covid funding, at some point we were going to have to make this transition. Part of the application makes this a little less bumpy,” she explained.