Pfizer asks the EU to pay it $700 million for canceled vaccine doses
After tough negotiations that lasted several months, Pfizer offered the European Union to pay half price for each canceled dose. A proposal formally rejected by Eastern States, which have been complaining for several months of having found themselves with a surplus of doses which they no longer want. Moreover, at the beginning of March 2023, Bulgaria had announced with destroyed 2.8 million doses
Pfizer follows through on its threat. Last March, Lecourrier-du-soir.com , based on exclusive information from the Financial Times media , relayed Pfizer's warnings addressed to the European Union on a divisive subject: the surplus of doses of vaccines whose EU no longer wants.
Thus, after the great anger of Member States such as Bulgaria or Poland, the American laboratory, under pressure, had decided to change the terms of the contracts, but on one and only condition: the European Union pays for the doses already manufactured even if she no longer needs them.
“The American laboratory has agreed to extend its contract from 2023 to 2026, according to two people familiar with the matter. But he insists on obtaining payment for the doses ordered in the contract and which will never be manufactured, ”taught us The Financial Times.
It was last March. And two months later, the sentence fell. Indeed, according to the Reuters news agency, which quotes the Financial Times , Pfizer has returned to the charge, offering the EU to pay half price for each dose of canceled vaccine, i.e. 10 dollars per dose for approximately 70 million canceled doses, which should be around 700 million dollars.
Will the new proposal be accepted by the European Union? There is the question. In any case, a year ago, 10 Eastern European countries, faced with a surplus of doses they no longer want, demanded that the EU terminate the vaccine contracts signed with the laboratories.
At least that's what Politico.eu media revealed . Indeed, according to this source, a group of 10 Eastern European countries sent a letter to the European Commission complaining of an excessive supply of vaccines against Covid. Angry, these countries demand from the EU a renegotiation of the contracts with the laboratories.
The 10 countries have put a number of grievances on the table, including the fact of being able to terminate the contracts signed with the labs when they (these countries) no longer need them and the possibility of being able to reduce the number of doses ordered.
In the letter, part of which was read by Politico.eu, the 10 countries in question complain that they have found themselves with a large quantity of vaccines on hand and do not understand that the negotiations between the EU and the pharmaceutical companies (on this subject) have not borne fruit. They also complained that the vaccines were delivered to them shortly before their expiry date.
According to information obtained by Politico , the letter was addressed to Stella Kyriakides, European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy. According to the source, the initiative is led by Poland and was supported by 9 other Eastern European countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania , Slovakia and Slovenia.
- Source : Sheikh Dieng
