Relationships are important – especially when there is a major effort to distribute the COVID-19 vaccines in progress. There have been reports recently, however, suggesting that Pfizerin (NYSE: PFE) the relationship with the US government may be impaired. In that Motley Fool Live video recorded on December 18, 2020, health and cannabis publisher / analyst Olivia Zitkus and Fool.com writer Keith Speights discuss what’s behind the feud between Pfizer and the feds.
Olivia Zitkus: There appears to be some confusion between the federal government and Pfizer about whether the number of doses to be administered is on schedule or whether they are sufficient. Pfizer published a message yesterday, I believe, refuting that they don’t have enough doses and blaming the government for the logistical flaw, saying, “We have enough, it’s here. Something else is going wrong.”
What do investors need to know about the situation?
Keith Speights: [Laughing] I think investors shouldn’t be too concerned about any of this. Perhaps there is a bit of a disagreement between Pfizer and the government here.
If you remember, when Pfizer delivered those highly effective results last month, there were some in the government who tried to take credit for Pfizer’s success, and Pfizer quickly came back and said, “Hey, we financed this ourselves, [laughs] and we take all the risk. “Some government officials said,” Oh, no. You were part of Operation Warp Speed, “and Pfizer said,” No, we really weren’t. We just received a purchase order, but the entire risk was ours. “
So I think there might be a bit of a riff here, and I think it probably manifested itself a little this week with HHS Secretary Azar, saying that there were some distribution challenges that Pfizer was facing. Pfizer came back and said, “No, we have doses that the government hasn’t even told us where to send them to.” So, a little restraint there, but I don’t think it is anything for investors to worry about.
Olivia Zitkus: That’s great. Pfizer says it will be ready to deliver 500 million doses globally next year and has said it is awaiting further instructions. [laughing]
Keith Speights: Yes. My personal opinion is that I tend to believe what Pfizer is saying. [laughs] After all, they have the vaccines, right?
Olivia Zitkus: It is true, they have the vaccine.
Keith Speights: They have more information. [laughs]