The African Union will pay three times more for the Russian Sputnik V jab than for the Oxford / AstraZeneca and Novavax vaccines, according to people familiar with the procurement process.
The price of $ 9.75 per dose for 300 million injections of the Russian vaccine, developed by the state-run Gamaleya Institute, undermines Moscow’s argument that it is offering affordable vaccines to countries with prices outside group agreements. Western pharmacists.
The deals struck by the AU, which is emerging as one of the largest buyers of vaccines in the world, provide a rare glimpse into how vaccine prices compare, a subject that manufacturers have sought to keep out of the spotlight.
“Africa is a key market for Sputnik V,” said the Russian Direct Investment Fund, an equity fund managed by the Kremlin that oversees Sputnik V’s foreign sales. “Our international price of just under $ 10 per dose is the same for all markets. ”
Sputnik V containers require two doses, which means that the cost per individual is just under $ 20.
RDIF boasted that the cost of the Russian vaccine is “twice as low as other vaccines with similar efficacy rates” and that its business with the poorest countries contrasts with other manufacturers that have prioritized the rich countries.
Kirill Dmitriev, chief executive of RDIF, told the Financial Times: “Countries really do see, you know, a tremendous duplication of criteria from some of the Western nations that have promised equal access and are basically buying everything for themselves. And they see significant inequality in the distribution of vaccines to favor wealthy nations. . . It is frankly unethical ”.
However, the price of the Russian vaccine, which will only arrive in Africa in May, compares to the US $ 3 the dose agreed by the AU for the Oxford / AstraZeneca and Novavax jabs made by the Serum Institute of India, according to sources with the acquisition of the UA.
AU will pay $ 6.75 a dose for the BioNTech / Pfizer vaccine and $ 10 for Johnson & Johnson, a single dose product. It is not buying any of Moderna’s two-dose vaccines, which cost $ 32 to $ 37 per dose.
In addition to 300 million doses of Sputnik V, the AU claims to have purchased provisional orders for 670 million doses of other jabs. It is buying vaccines on behalf of member states to supplement supplies from Covax, a facility supported by the World Health Organization that provides free vaccines to 92 countries, including many in Africa.
The AU declined to comment on prices.
RDIF said the vaccine’s 92 percent effectiveness, cost and ease of storage are “unique”. But scientists from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week confirmed data showing that the J&J jab – which can also be stored in a normal refrigerator – prevented serious or critical illness in 86 percent of U.S. participants and 82 percent in Africa do Sul, where 501 The .V2 variant was prevalent. Since only one injection of the J&J vaccine is needed, for $ 10 it would be almost half the price of Sputnik V.
The Oxford / AstraZeneca jab has shown about 70 percent effectiveness in clinical trials, while the BioNTech / Pfizer product, which needs to be stored frozen, has shown 95 percent effectiveness.
African governments were disappointed by the slow pace of vaccine arrival and, in some cases, closed expensive side deals to ensure early delivery. South Africa ordered 1.5 million doses of the SII Oxford / AstraZeneca jab at $ 5.25 a dose, although it later stopped the launch after discovering that the injection may not prevent mild and moderate cases caused by variant 501.V2 discovered for the first time in the country.
This week, the first AstraZeneca vaccine provided by Covax arrived in Africa when Ghana received 600,000 doses. Covax said it was paying $ 3 a dose for the jab, made in India.
Covax initially expected to distribute 15 million doses of the vaccine to Africa this month, with another 40 million arriving in March, although the schedule appears to have slowed. He promised to provide enough doses to inoculate at least 20 percent of the population in eligible countries by the end of the year.
World Bank President David Malpass said it is true that manufacturers are diverting supplies to wealthier countries that pay more. He asked for less secrecy.
“We need transparency in their contracts with Covax and the doses that are available at Covax for developing countries,” he said. “These will be the key to obtaining delivery schedules.”
African governments can have access to a $ 2 billion vaccine facility provided by the Cairo-based African Export and Import Bank, as well as financing from the World Bank.
China has provided few doses to Africa so far, raising questions about possible Chinese supply restrictions. Beijing this month donated 200,000 doses to Zimbabwe, an almost bankrupt country with which it has close but strained relations.
Additional reporting by Sarah Neville in London, Stephanie Findlay in New Delhi, Hannah Kuchler in New York and Joe Miller in Frankfurt