Pfizer doesn’t want to let go of those Euros! The pharma company is offering the European Union a deal: pay for Covid vaccines we don’t make. Sound like a plan??
This is reporting from the Financial Times which says that they spoke to two people familiar with the deal. They say that Pfizer wants to extend its contract with the EU through 2026 and guarantee the same payout that they had for the first vaccine program, even though many of those vaccines won’t be delivered because vaccine demand is down.
In fact, the EU has paid for over 4 million Covid vaccines since 2020 but has administered less than 2 million. How did they get that sweet deal again? Oh, right, by texting with European Commissioner Ursula Van der Leyen.
Pfizer wants that sweet deal again but several countries oppose it, including Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Poland. In fact, Poland has not been receiving or paying for Covid vaccines since last May when they declared a force majeure due to the war in Ukraine and the resulting refugee crisis. The EU is currently fighting back on the force majeure claim but doesn’t expect to want to sign on the dotted line for more vaccines at this point!
