Despite lame duck president Donald Trump’s statement that the United States would pay the least of any nation, European Union nations are paying less than the US for the coronavirus vaccines, the New York Times reports.
Trump has claimed that he unilaterally declared the United States would get “favored nation” status, which in his mind means that the US would automatically get the lowest price for any product, particularly drugs.
However, a Belgian government official tweeted out the price schedule the EU is paying for vaccines, which is significantly lower than the US government’s costs. The EU is paying the equivalent of $14.70 per dose for the Pfizer vaccine, while the US is paying $19.50.
For the newly approved Moderna vaccine, the US is paying $15 per dose, as well as the cost of the research and manufacturing, estimated to be $4.1 billion for 200 million doses according to the Department of Health and Human Services, making the actual cost of each dose over $20. The EU is paying $18 with no research funding obligation.
The EU is also in line to get more doses of the vaccine, having signed contracts that would give them additional rights to added production, an agreement the US federal government declined to sign, meaning resupply won’t happen in the US until late Spring 2021 at the earliest.