The African Union will pay three times more for Russia’s Sputnik V shot 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 offers affordable injections to countries priced out of deals with Western pharmaceutical groups.
The AU’s deals, which is emerging as one of the world’s largest vaccine buyers, provide a rare insight into how injection prices compare, a topic manufacturers have been trying to keep out of the spotlight.
“Africa is a key market for Sputnik V,” said the Russian Direct Investment Fund, a Kremlin-managed equity fund that oversees Sputnik V’s overseas sales. “Our international price of just under $ 10 per dose is for all markets. the same.”
Sputnik V recipients require two doses, meaning the cost per person is just under $ 20.
RDIF boasted that the cost of the Russian shot is “twice that of other vaccines with a similar efficacy rate,” and that its deals with poorer countries are in contrast to other manufacturers who have prioritized rich countries.
Kirill Dmitriev, RDIF’s CEO, told the Financial Times, “Countries really see, you know, huge double standards of some of the western countries promising equal access and basically just buying everything for themselves. And they see significant inequality in the distribution of vaccines in favor of rich countries. It’s unethical, frankly. “
The price of the Russian vaccine, which won’t arrive in Africa until May, is comparable to the $ 3 per dose agreed by the AU for the Oxford / AstraZeneca and Novavax shots made by the Serum Institute of India, according to the famous people. with AU tender.
The AU pays $ 6.75 per dose for the BioNTech / Pfizer vaccine and $ 10 for Johnson & Johnson’s, a single-dose product. It doesn’t buy any of Moderna’s two-shot vaccinations, priced at $ 32 to $ 37 per dose.
In addition to 300 million doses of Sputnik V, the AU says it has secured preliminary orders for 670 million doses of other injections. It buys vaccines on behalf of member states to supplement supplies to Covax, a World Health Organization-backed facility that provides free vaccines to 92 countries, including many in Africa.
The AU declined to comment on the prices.
RDIF has said that its vaccine’s 92 percent efficacy, cost, and ease of storage are “unique.” But scientists at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week confirmed data showing that J & J’s jab – which can also be kept in a regular refrigerator – prevented serious or critical illness in 86 percent of U.S. participants and 82 percent in South. Africa, where the 501 .V2 variant was common. Since it only takes one injection of the J&J vaccine, at $ 10 it would be nearly half the price of Sputnik V.
The Oxford / AstraZeneca shot showed approximately 70 percent efficacy in clinical studies, while the BioNTech / Pfizer product, which must be stored frozen, showed 95 percent efficacy.
African governments are disappointed with the slow pace of vaccines coming in and, in some cases, have negotiated expensive side agreements to secure early supplies. South Africa ordered 1.5 million doses of the Oxford / AstraZeneca shot from SII for $ 5.25 per dose, although it later halted the rollout after discovering that the injection may be causing mild and moderate cases from the 501.V2- variant first discovered in the country could not occur.
This week, Covax’s first AstraZeneca vaccine arrived in Africa when Ghana received 600,000 doses. Covax said it paid $ 3 per dose of the shot manufactured in India.
Covax had originally hoped to deliver 15 million doses of vaccine to Africa this month, and another 40 million in March, although that timetable appears to have shifted. It has pledged to provide doses sufficient to inoculate at least 20 percent of the population of eligible countries by the end of the year.
World Bank president David Malpass said it was true that manufacturers were shifting supplies to richer countries that paid more. He called for less secrecy.
“We need transparency about their contracts with Covax and the doses available with Covax for developing countries,” he said. “They will be the key to getting delivery schedules.”
African governments have access to a $ 2 billion vaccination facility provided by the Cairo-based African Export-Import Bank and funding from the World Bank.
China has so far delivered few doses to Africa, raising questions about possible Chinese supply restrictions. Beijing this month donated 200,000 doses to Zimbabwe, a near-bankrupt country with which it maintains close but tense relations.
Additional reporting by Sarah Neville in London, Stephanie Findlay in New Delhi, Hannah Kuchler in New York and Joe Miller in Frankfurt