South Africa will have to buy doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine at a price almost 2.5 times higher than most European countries, the country’s health ministry said.
The country most affected by the virus on the African continent has ordered at least 1.5 million vaccines from the Serum Institute of India (SII), scheduled for January and February.
A senior health official told AFP on Thursday that these doses would cost $ 5.25 (€ 4.32) each – almost two and a half times the amount paid by most European countries.
European Union members will pay $ 2.16 (€ 1.78) for AstraZeneca’s photos, according to information released by a Belgian minister on Twitter.
AstraZeneca France told AFP in November that its vaccines would be limited to € 2.50 (about US $ 3) per dose “to provide vaccines to the largest population, with the fairest possible access”.
He did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Ministry of Health’s price quote.
To date, South Africa has recorded more than 1.3 million coronavirus cases and 38,800 deaths.
South Africa’s deputy general director of health, Anban Pillay, said by text message:
“The National Health Department confirms that the price of $ 5.25 is what was quoted for us.”
Pillay told the local newspaper Business Day that the highest price was because other countries contributed to research and development.
“The explanation given to us why other high-income countries have a lower price is that they invested in [research and development], hence the price discount, ”said Pillay.
About 2,000 South Africans participated in clinical trials for the vaccine in 2020.
Bilateral agreements between richer governments and manufacturers of coronavirus vaccines have raised concerns about price increases and a lack of supply for low- and middle-income countries.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned against “vaccine nationalism” and “price manipulation”.
South Africa’s AstraZeneca vaccine order is part of 20 million safe doses to be delivered in the first half of 2021.
The Covax facility, supported by WHO, is expected to provide injections to 10% of the population between April and June.
Other vaccines will be provided via the African Union and bilateral contracts with suppliers that have not yet been released.
The SII has also been set to provide 100 million doses of the vaccine to the African Union for $ 3 each, Reuters reported.
Opposition groups have criticized South Africa’s vaccination strategy. “Today’s reports indicate that … the government will have to spend twice what some other countries are paying for their vaccines,” said the main opposition party, Alliance Democratic, blaming poor planning and delayed negotiations.
The Solidarity union and the prominent human rights group Afriforum jointly announced plans to launch a legal battle against the government for lack of transparency. “The government’s failure to disclose information is further evidence of why it cannot be trusted with a monopoly on the purchase and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines,” said Afriforum.
South Africa is battling a second wave of infections fueled by a new variant of the coronavirus that scientists have found most infectious.
The government plans to vaccinate two-thirds of its population – about 40 million out of almost 60 million people – to obtain collective immunity by the end of 2021.