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Pfizer reveals you could pay $110-130 for COVID jab once govt stops footing bill

October 22, 2022 | | Print Article

The United States government, which has been pushing the COVID-19 vaccine to the point of firing Americans for not complying, will eventually phase out its program of buying and distributing the experimental mRNA jabs, and when it does, Pfizer estimates the cost of getting injected with a drug that neither prevents people from getting nor transmitting the virus will jump to between $110 and $130 per dose.

Those who are covered by public programs such as Medicare or Medicaid will likely continue to receive the vaccine at no out-of-pocket cost, as the Affordable Care Act requires insurers to provide with many recommended vaccines, and those lucky enough to have private health insurance will continue to get it for free, Pfizer executives say, according to the New York Post.

But when the government program, which has so far distributed more than 375 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine (not including the 12 million doses of an updated booster approved by the administration earlier this year), is phased out — something that could happen early next year — the price per dose will jump from the $19.50 per dose the drugmaker charged the United States last year to more than a $100 per adult jab.

For those who want the vaccine and live in that all-too-familiar zone comprised of those who earn too much to qualify for government insurance and not enough to be able to afford private insurance, the exorbitant price per dose would almost certainly carve an unhealthy chunk out of their already shrinking budgets, especially considering that Pfizer’s is a two-dose vaccine.

Should those people want the vaccine, they will have to turn to what a spokesperson for Pfizer says is an income-based assistance program aimed at helping eligible U.S. residents with no insurance to cover the cost.

Angela Lukin, a Pfizer executive, explained that the price hike is due to the need to switch to single-dose vials and the increased cost of commercial distribution. Still, said Lukin, the price is well below the thresholds “for what would be considered a highly effective vaccine.”

The news comes on the heels of a Thursday vote in which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended that all children over the tender age of six months receive the vaccine.

Critics of the unanimous vote argue that the recommendation will lead to schools requiring students to get vaccinated as a condition of enrollment, as many do for measles and mumps vaccines.

While vaccine requirements for students are set by the states, as Tucker Carlson pointed out, many Democratic-run states follow CDC recommendations like a baby duckling follows its mother.

Last year, Pfizer hauled in $36.78 billion off the shot, making the experimental drug the company’s top-selling product, the New York Post reports. And if analysts’ predictions are accurate, the drugmaker stands to make another $32 billion this year.

After that, they say, Pfizer will see its sales tumble.

It seems Americans have a limit to the number of times they are willing to subject themselves to getting stuck with a needle, especially as the pandemic wanes.

While more than 90% of adults have taken at least one dose of the drug, only about half of them have returned for their booster.

Melissa Fine
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