President Joe Biden reported to Congress on Monday ending two national emergencies to address covid-19 since May 11, as most of the world has moved closer to normal nearly three years after they were first declared.
It is expected that, following the decision of the US government, covid-19 vaccine costs skyrocket once the government stops buying them.
According to a note from the voice of america, Pfizer says it will charge up to $130 per dose.
This will directly impact the economy of American families (and internationally), since only 15 percent have received the upgraded and recommended booster that has been offered since last fall.
“Once the emergency expires, people with private insurance will have some out-of-pocket costs for immunizations, tests and treatment, while the uninsured will have to pay those expenses in full,” the article says.
The measure to end the declarations of national emergency and public health emergency would formally restructure the federal response to the coronavirus to treat the virus as an endemic threat to public health which can be handled through normal agency authorities.
For this reason, experts say that the surprise end of the pandemic emergency in the US, even when not even the WHO has done so, it would be catastrophic for that North American country.
“An abrupt end to emergency declarations would create great chaos and uncertainty throughout the health care system, for states, hospitals and doctors’ offices and, most importantly, for tens of millions of Americans,” the Office of Management and Budget wrote in an administration Policy Statement.
Profits
According to a report by the EFE agency, the American laboratory Pfizer obtained a net profit of US$31,372 million in 2022, which is 43% more than a year earlier, thanks mainly to sales of its covid-19 vaccine, according to information published this Tuesday.
Revenue grew 23%, up to the record amount of US$100 thousand 330 million. If the income from the sale of “Cominarty” is discounted, the trade name of the vaccine developed by Pfizer together with the German BioNTech, and “Paxlovid”, the antiviral drug against more serious cases, the advance would be 2%.
Pfizer Chairman and CEO, Albert Bourla, highlighted in a statement that 2022 was a record year for the company, not only in terms of revenue and earnings per share, which were the highest in its long history, but “what is more important”, regarding the percentage of patients who have a positive perception of the pharmaceutical and the work they do.
However, in 2023 Pfizer expects its revenue figure to decline due to lower sales of vaccines and medicines against the coronavirus.
*With information from the voice of america y EFE.
