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Reason for varied prices of Covid Vaccine in US, UK and India, revealed

Amid worries for a cure to eliminate the virus that has caused massive damage to the economies and normal lives of people across the globe, politics and top countries are seeing this as an opportunity to play the game dirty.

Covid-19 vaccines are out and available in some countries now and India, too, is likely to start administering the doses soon to its healthcare workers first followed by the public.

The underlined point here, however, is the fact that each country is availing the vaccine at a different price. The reason? Pharmaceutical companies are selling the exact same vaccine for varied prices to different nations across the globe, as reported by NDTV.

In 2001, when the HIV AIDS epidemic was at its peak, India and South Africa had jointly requested the World Trade Organization to eliminate patents so as to allow under-developed countries and their governments to offer aid to the public. This ensured that monopoly doesn’t take the driver’s seat and governments aren’t restricted from providing help to their citizens at a rate everyone can afford.

A similar trend was attempted in October 2020 when India stepped forward asking to waive off the protection of intellectual property to the WTO so that poor countries be able to develop and provide the vaccine at a cheaper price. If the requests of India and South Africa do get accepted, the world will be allowed to access vaccines at a much affordable rate.

However, the WTO requires the consent of global countries. Here, the monopoly has come in the picture again, as the US, UK and European Nation have blocked the vaccine proposal raised by India, thereby, allowing pharmaceutical companies to sell their vaccines at a higher price to poorer countries.

Notably, these countries are buying vaccines at a lesser price. For comparison, the Oxford vaccine is available in the UK for about $2.17, in the US for $4 and for India it could be as high as $5. Though no official rate card has been made available so far by the government, Serum Institute of India, Chairman, Mr. Poonawala said that each vaccine (2 jabs) will be priced at Rs. 2000, roughly coming down to $27 in the private market.

The catch here is the same countries that are having the cheaper variant of the vaccine from the same pharma company is blocking the proposal that could ultimately permit poor nations to sell the vaccine affordably, paving way for the drug makers to earn profits.

These companies argue that the high price point is vital for them to continue their innovations and developments in order to make life-saving drugs like the covid vaccine. But the bottom line now is whether this is the time to earn profits and think about one’s pocket when the world is collapsing.

For instance, if the vaccine is continued to be sold for an artificially higher price in poor countries, their already low economy will witness a faster downward trend, forcing them to live an even low-quality of life. As majority of these people will not be able to receive the vaccine due to its cost, economies will shrink further, leading to a longer recovery time.

While this time can be used to fight the virus and ensure the cure reaches all to help nations survive, not much is being done by the powerful countries except a brutal push to poor countriestowards the cliff.