South Africa will have to buy doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine at a price nearly 2.5 times higher than most European countries, the country’s Ministry of Health said.
The most affected country on the African continent has ordered at least 1.5 million injections of the vaccine from the Serum Institute of India (SII), expected in January and February.
A senior health official told AFP on Thursday that those doses would each cost $ 5.25 (€ 4.32) – almost two and a half times the amount paid by most European countries.
According to information leaked by a Belgian minister on Twitter, members of the European Union will pay $ 2.16 (€ 1.78) for the AstraZeneca footage.
AstraZeneca France told AFP in November that the number of shots would be limited to € 2.50 (about $ 3) per dose “to deliver vaccines to the widest population, with the fairest possible access”.
It did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Health Ministry’s quote.
To date, South Africa has recorded more than 1.3 million coronavirus cases and 38,800 deaths.
South Africa’s Deputy Director General of Health Anban Pillay said via text message:
“The National Department of Health confirms that the $ 5.25 price is what we were quoted as saying.”
Pillay told the local Business Day newspaper that the higher price was because other countries contributed to research and development.
“The explanation we got for why other high-income countries have a lower price is that they have invested in the [research and development]hence the discount on the price, ”said Pillay.
About 2,000 South Africans took part in clinical trials for the vaccine in 2020.
Bilateral agreements between wealthier governments and coronavirus vaccine manufacturers have raised concerns about price hikes and a lack of supply in low- and middle-income countries.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned against “vaccination nationalism” and “price hike”.
The AstraZeneca vaccine order in South Africa is part of 20 million secured doses to be delivered in the first half of 2021.
The WHO-backed Covax facility is expected to shoot 10% of the population between April and June.
Other vaccines will be delivered through the African Union and bilateral contracts with suppliers that have not yet been disclosed.
The SII would also supply 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 double what some other countries are paying for their vaccines,” said the Democratic Alliance’s main opposition party, blaming poor planning and delayed negotiations.
The Solidarity union and prominent rights group Afriforum have jointly announced plans to start a legal battle against the government over the lack of transparency. “The government’s non-disclosure of 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 facing a second wave of infections, fueled by a new variant of coronavirus that scientists consider more contagious.
The government is aiming to vaccinate two-thirds of the population – about 40 million of the nearly 60 million people – by the end of 2021 to achieve herd immunity.