The Biden administration’s strained talks with Moderna stand in stark contrast to its relationship with Pfizer and BioNTech. ![]() “While we are still working to increase capacity in our current network to deliver vaccines for the ongoing pandemic in 2022, we believe it is important to invest in the future,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a statement. It has not chosen a site or set a timeline for opening the facility, however. Moderna has not yet responded to a request for comment on the allegations about its financial motivations.īut amid the ongoing tension, the company announced early Thursday that it will build a vaccine-production hub in Africa to produce up to 500 million doses each year. The White House declined to comment on the record. “We need them to step up to the plate in the short term and dramatically increase the number of doses they’re delivering to low and middle-income countries,” a senior administration official said. ![]() ![]() The company’s stance has infuriated top Biden health officials, who have pressed Moderna executives in recent meetings that one person characterized as “very intense.” The deliberations between the federal government and Moderna could undermine the Biden administration’s efforts to ship more doses overseas as it begins to roll out booster shots to Americans. But administration officials privately believe the reluctance is also driven in part by financial concerns: If Moderna agreed to sell the Biden administration doses for poorer countries it would likely be asked to do so at cost, one source said, putting pressure on its bottom line.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |