Whether it is the multinationals that get paid too much or the governments that pay too little: the populace is never happy
Another very interesting controversy about vaccines has broken out. Pfizer and BioNTech, which have respected the delivery of the agreed doses and indeed have even increased supplies compared to expected, are in talks with the European Commission for a new contract for 900 million doses (plus an option for another 900 million). And what would be the problem? That the price requested by Pfizer, after the production problems of other pharmaceutical companies such as AstraZeneca, is higher this time: no more € 15.5 per dose, but € 19.5.
Once again there is the accusation of speculation, of seeking too many profits, of the dominance of pharmaceutical companies over governments and of money over rights. In reality we are talking about completely marginal figures: about 3.5 billion more for the whole EU, which for Italy means less than 500 million (about the same as the bonus for bikes and scooters). But beyond this, it is surprising that, until recently, the controversy with the EU was that it was not able to have more vaccines due to the short arm: fewer vaccines to save two pennies. Similarly, AstraZeneca has been inundated with accusations for speculating on vaccines despite selling them at cost (around 3 euros). In any case, someone is always wrong: multinationals if they charge too much or governments if they pay too little for vaccines.