The Joe Biden administration encouraged Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax on Thursday to charge a fair price for their improved Covid vaccinations when they introduced them in the US this fall.
The future single-strain vaccines that the three firms are developing to combat the prevalent omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 are not yet priced precisely.
Joe Biden’s Request For ‘Reasonable’ Pricing Of Vaccines
Earlier this year, Pfizer and Moderna stated they anticipated charging between $110 and $130 each dose for their shots, which would be a nearly five-fold increase over the cost of currently available vaccines.
Legislators have criticized that estimate, pointing out that the two businesses and their leaders have reaped large revenues from the shots given out during the pandemic.
As the federal government is anticipated to switch the distribution of the Covid vaccination to the commercial market in the fall, the cost points for the doses will be significant.
Therefore, rather than selling their updated vaccines to the government, manufacturers will instead sell them straight to healthcare professionals.
A Moderna spokeswoman reaffirmed the company’s prior statements regarding having a sufficient supply of vaccines in place in time for the fall.
In order to guarantee that they have the necessary information to cover the revised vaccinations in the fall, HHS said it expects the manufacturers to collaborate with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and other payors.
The agency also gave the producers advice on how to organize their regulatory submissions for each of their various shots to the Food and Drug Administration.
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CDC Vaccination Recommendations Expected By September
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could provide recommendations for the vaccinations by September, according to HHS, if such submissions were made in advance.
This fall, updated immunizations for Americans without insurance will be covered in part by federal and business programs.
For its Covid injections, Pfizer and Moderna both plan to introduce patient assistance programs. However, there are still unanswered concerns over the nature of those initiatives.
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