{"id":82504,"date":"2022-04-08T12:59:40","date_gmt":"2022-04-08T12:59:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theoutlier.co.za\/?p=82504"},"modified":"2025-11-17T17:43:24","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T17:43:24","slug":"did-africa-pay-more-for-covid-19-vaccines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/2022\/04\/08\/did-africa-pay-more-for-covid-19-vaccines\/","title":{"rendered":"Did Africa pay more for Covid-19 vaccines?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How much did African&nbsp;countries&nbsp;pay for Johnson &amp; Johnson, Moderna and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines Vaxzevria and Covishield?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The short answer?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In most cases, more than other countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"flourish-embed flourish-table\" data-src=\"visualisation\/9314482\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The data is from Unicef and although it is not exhaustive \u2013 it had vaccine price data for only fiveAfrican countries  \u2013 we can see generally how much vaccines have cost countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We looked at the prices for four vaccines: Johnson &amp; Johnson, AstraZeneca\/Covishield, Pfizer and Moderna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the most part, vaccines were purchased from pharmaceutical companies either by countries, regional bodies or through the vaccine alliance Covax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theoutlier.co.za\/covid-19\/81393\/covax-in-africa-which-vaccines-are-countries-getting-and-how-much\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Read more:&nbsp;Covax in Africa \u2013 which vaccines are countries getting, and how much?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">AstraZeneca &amp; Covishield<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The vaccine alliance Covax, which aimed to fairly and equitably distribute vaccines across the globe, bought the two-dose AstraZeneca\/Covishield vaccines for $3 a dose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Covishield is the name for the AstraZeneca vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But when South Africa initially bought Covishield \u2013&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.news24.com\/news24\/southafrica\/news\/covid-19-sa-finalising-sale-of-1m-astrazeneca-vaccine-doses-to-au-at-price-purchased-from-india-20210305\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">before selling it to the African Union<\/a> because of concerns about its efficacy against the Beta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus&nbsp;\u2013 it cost $5.25 a dose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While in Europe the two-dose <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ema.europa.eu\/en\/medicines\/human\/EPAR\/vaxzevria-previously-covid-19-vaccine-astrazeneca#:~:text=COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca received,Vaxzevria on 25 March 2021\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Vaxzevria<\/a>&nbsp;from Oxford-AstraZeneca, cost the European Union $2.19 a dose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Johnson &amp; Johnson<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The African Union and South Africa bought the one-dose Johnson &amp; Johnson for $10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The European Commission managed to buy the same one-dose Johnson &amp; Johnson for&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2020\/dec\/18\/belgian-minister-accidentally-tweets-eus-covid-vaccine-price-list\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$8.50<\/a>, while the United States paid $10 a dose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Moderna<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The two-dose Moderna vaccine has one of the widest range of prices, from Covax paying $10 a dose to Kuwait paying $40 a dose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On average, the dose cost around $23.79, but Botswana paid $28.88 per dose \u2013 $5 above the average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Pfizer-BioNTech<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">African countries bought the two-dose Pfizer vaccine at a discount compared with other countries. On average, African countries spent $7.92 per dose; while in Europe, the same vaccine cost an average of $18.92.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-600-wide size\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/editor.mediahack.co.za\/theoutlier\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/04\/price-of-vaccines-3-600x600.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-82526\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sinopharm &amp; Sinovac<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In general it appears that some countries bought the Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines at a discount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On average, the two-dose Sinopharm vaccine sold at $18.33 globally, Senegal paid&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/uk-health-coronavirus-senegal-vaccine\/senegal-pays-3-7-million-for-200000-doses-of-chinas-sinopharm-vaccine-idUSKBN2AD06Y\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$18.60<\/a>&nbsp;per dose and Uganda paid&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.ug\/govt-to-purchase-18-million-doses-of-sinopharm-covid-19-vaccine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$5.45 \u2013 a significant discount.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The two-dose Sinovac vaccine was sold slightly cheaper at $17.85 a dose on average. Botswana reportedly paid&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/africa\/botswana-pays-equivalent-15-dose-sinovacs-covid-19-vaccine-2021-07-30\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$15<\/a>&nbsp;per dose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sputnik V<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Russian made two-dose vaccine sold for a global average of $14.72, but Ghana reportedly paid&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/pidgin\/tori-57432831\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$19&nbsp;<\/a>a dose. Argentina, which manufactured part of the vaccine, bought Sputnik V at&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/datos.salud.gob.ar\/dataset\/precio-unitario-de-vacunas-covid-19-adquiridas-por-el-ministerio-de-salud-de-la-nacion\/archivo\/47d25d2c-57fd-4fc3-b09b-64b12d96563f\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$9.95<\/a>&nbsp;a dose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">New vaccines are the cheapest<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Corbevax is the cheapest vaccines on the market at $1.92 per dose. The vaccine, manufactured by a consortium of Biological E. Limited, Baylor College of Medicine, Dynavax and Texas Children\u2019s Hospital has emergency use approval in Botswana and India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BWGovernment\/status\/1508675456626737152\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">29 March<\/a>, philanthropist and surgeon Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong donated 100-million pula&#8217;s worth of Corbevax vaccines to Botswana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The World Health Organisation has not yet granted&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/extranet.who.int\/pqweb\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/Status_COVID_VAX_02April2022.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Corbevax<\/a>&nbsp;emergency use approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"flourish-embed flourish-table\" data-src=\"visualisation\/9312576\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Methodology<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Data from&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.unicef.org\/supply\/covid-19-vaccine-market-dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">UNICEF COVID-19 Vaccine Market Dashboard<\/a>, downloaded on 30 March 2022. The data is based on reported prices, released either by government agencies, news organisations or Covax. The cost of the vaccines per dose are supplied in US dollars.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Countries that made deals with pharmaceutical companies outside of Covax \u2013 barring Pfizer \u2013 paid more for their vaccines than other nations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":82534,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,446,1387],"tags":[22,23,102,24],"newsletter-post":[],"site":[],"class_list":["post-82504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-news","category-the-outlier","tag-covax","tag-covid-19","tag-unicef","tag-vaccines"],"acf":{"big_number":"","big_number_caption":"","big_number_link":"","big_number_background":"","big_number_text_colour":"#000000","big_number_icon":false,"big_number_wide":"yes","featured_chart":false,"flourish_chart_id":"","flourish_sub_title":"","flourish_chart_width":"medium","is_newsletter_post":"No","post_style":"bc","show_on_front":"Yes","link_through":"Yes","chart_url":"","background_colour":"#0089AA","text_colour":"#FFFFFF"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82504"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82504\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86626,"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82504\/revisions\/86626"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82504"},{"taxonomy":"newsletter-post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newsletter-post?post=82504"},{"taxonomy":"site","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/site?post=82504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}