But developing countries pay less, so BionTech and Pfizer will have less profits. As cool as having a company like Biontech, run by immigrants, founded in Germany they always rubbed me the wrong way in terms of PR and business conduct since the start of the pandemic. With huge support from German media and politics. The continued dissing of Astrazeneca is just one example, the push for booster shots is another.
It's fascinating how the vaccine makers have come out of this smelling like roses to so many and I wonder how long it will last. Not long ago, the NYT could write "the turpitude of the pharmaceutical industry is so commonplace that it has become part of the cultural wallpaper.” [0] Now we all seem very happy to accept their products and believe their claims. Truly wonderful to behold.
I can recall books and arguments that made a good case that big pharma operates most like a mafia. I also recall hearing some tthatime ago that drug pharma execs themselves consider the vaccine guys to be like the mob, with a habit of aggressive shakedowns and pressure campaigns the norm in that industry, and thought they gave the industry a bad name.
Yeah, and the one company that did the right thing (TM), AZ, by selling the vaccine at cost is the one who's image suffered the most. Strange times we live in.
There is active and passive dissing. Like publicly confirming deliveries when your competition is announcing delays. Or re-publishing your vaccine efficiency numbers when those of the competition are in doubt. I guess we can agree that this is a form throwing shade, or dissing, your competition. Just doing it in a smarter way than saying "AZ sucks".
>Like publicly confirming deliveries when your competition is announcing delays.
Sorry but that is nonsense. When in spring 2021 AZ had big delays, everyone was nervous that the same might happen to BNT. So politics, the public and the press asked them about it. At this time we had almost daily reports on deliveries because it was THE news item in spring.
BNT deliveries were rock solid and mostly on time in the EU in spring 2021, while AZ had plenty of delays. And you are now holding this against BNT?
Hum, anyway they are making a lot of effort to sell doses around here (Brazil), even with an uncooperative government. And they indeed are asking for a smaller price than on the developed countries.
I guess the rich countries applying a 3rd dose is a net benefit for them, but they seem to be playing the "we will sell as much as we can" game, not the monopolizer "restricting supplies leads to more lucrative prices" one.
The US and other developed countries have purchased vaccine doses from the manufacturers at the negotiated price and then donated some of those to developing countries. So did those doses at least the profit was the same.
