The business of creating a vaccine: COVID

By Sofia Arts Romero and Manon Goirand

The business of creating a vaccine: COVID

Since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, researchers have been working tirelessly to find a vaccine that would immunize and fight the virus, especially for those who need it the most. This past month there has been an update in COVID news that not only one, but three vaccines have been made to counter its effect and authorized for which certain national regulatory authorities have authorized the use. However, there are several things you need to know about it before getting too excited. In this journal, we will be discussing what this new vaccine entails and who eventually profits from its creation and distribution. 

Firstly, COVID-19 vaccines are already being introduced in countries worldwide, but not everyone can have it as of now due to its limited number of doses as given by the thorough and complex logistical distribution process, since stock is rigorously managed with temperature control to maintain the effectiveness of the vaccines. However, it will soon be made available for a wider distribution worldwide in the coming months as the World Health Organization is working with worldwide partners to speed up the process as much as possible while also ensuring the highest safety standards are being met.

A few facts about these new vaccines are the following: The first people to acquire them will be health care workers, especially those working at the frontlines of covid, people in care facilities, essential workers, adults with medical conditions, and elderly people, followed by all the other adults (Zimmer & Thomas, 2020). For the general public, the vaccine will more likely be administered by doctors, and it is important to note that “the ultimate value of this vaccine will really be determined by coverage”, since the wider the coverage the more effectiveness it will have in stopping the overall spread of the vaccine. This is why drugmakers and pharmaceuticals have been working on keeping the affordability of the vaccine, as the main goal is that it is easily accessible. For now, Pfizer, a US drugmaker selling one of the COVID-19 vaccines, has agreed to supply around 100 million doses to the US at a price of $39 for a two-shot course (or $19.50 per dose) Some side effects, however, should be accounted for, such as muscle ache, headache, fever, chills, and tiredness that last about a day. It has also been observed that people with allergies reacted more strongly to the vaccine. 

An important question to ponder on is who is really going to profit from these vaccines? Governments have spent billions of dollars to permit pharmaceutical advancement to search for a vaccine in the last year. The ones who will most likely benefit the most from it are pharmaceutical companies and researchers. Indeed, pharmaceuticals will likely gain a good reputation for having found a vaccine this quickly after the start of the pandemic, but it will also likely generate billions of dollars, as well as investors in pharmaceuticals selling the vaccine (Carroll, 2020). Drugmakers working on the vaccine, specifically, Pfizer and BioNTech could make around $13 billion just from selling the coronavirus vaccine. 

References:

Carroll, S. 2020. Shot in the arm: The potential profits from a Covid-19 vaccine. France 24: People & Profit. [online] Available at: <https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/people-profit/20201119-shot-in-the-arm-the-potential-profits-from-a-covid-19-vaccine>

Zimmer, C. & Thomas, K. 2020. Answers to Your Questions About the New Covid Vaccines in the U.S. The New York Times. [online] Available at: <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/14/well/live/covid-vaccine-questions.html?searchResultPosition=2>

Jennings, K. (2020, November 17). How Much Will A Covid-19 Vaccine Cost? Retrieved December 16, 2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/katiejennings/2020/11/17/how-much-will-a-covid-19-vaccine-cost/?sh=72f1609c576d 

Pfizer and BioNTech could make $13bn from coronavirus vaccine. (2020, November 10). Retrieved December 16, 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/nov/10/pfizer-and-biontech-could-make-13bn-from-coronavirus-vaccine