Pfizer announced that the retail price of a Covid-19 vaccine dose will be set between $110 to $130 after the government pandemic programs in place to pay for the manufacture, distribution and administration of the shots run out, the Associated Press reports.
Relatively few people would have to pay full retail price thanks to insurance coverage or government subsidy. Like seasonal flu shots–which have a retail cost between $50 and $95–insurance plans must cover required vaccines at no out-of-pocket expense to the patient. The company said it will set up an assistance program for people who cannot afford full-priced shots as it does with other medications.
The federal government is paying between $20 to $30 per dose of the current batches of vaccines from the manufacturers because it ordered lots of tens of millions at a time.