Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) In Discussions To Supply South Africa COVID-19 vaccine At $10 Per Dose

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX) have announced that they will offer South Africa discounted COVID-19 vaccine at $10 per dose. But according to sources familiar with the matter, the president has described the costs to be prohibitive.

Vaccine dose price considered South Africa as a middle-income nation

This price is almost half what drugmakers are charging in the US for the vaccine. It was worked out considering South Africa is a middle-income nation according to the sources that sought anonymity because the information is not yet public. The source also another factor that played a role is the fact that there are companies running vaccine trials in the country.

A spokesperson of the country’s Health Department said that they could not comment on the price of the vaccine dose since they are yet to conclude a deal. Equally, there hasn’t been any comment from Pfizer and BioNTech representatives in the ongoing discussions. They however indicated that they are committed to affordable and equitable access for the vaccines to all people globally including South Africa.

The South African government has been under intense scrutiny from opposition parties, labor-unions allies and medical professionals regarding its failure to secure vaccine supply deals with drugmakers. So far around 29 countries have started vaccinating their populations and South Africa is expecting to start inoculation for around 10% of its population in Q2 2021. The deal with Pfizer and BioNTech became possible through the Covax initiative meant to ensure poorer countries secure access to the vaccines.

South Africa engaging three companies for vaccine supply

South Africa has reported more than 1.1 million COVID-19 cases and deaths are approaching 30,000 which are the most for any country in Africa. The country’s President said that Pfizer is among one of the three companies that the government is in discussion with for the supply of the COVID-19 vaccine. Already Pfizer has offered to supply 50 million shots for health workers across the continent and these will arrive from March through the end of 2021.