Moderna said Wednesday it wouldn’t raise the price of its COVID-19 vaccine after a public outcry.
The about-face comes after the company was harshly criticized for planning to raise the cost of a vaccine dose about 400% — to the $110-to-$130 range. The company said the decision was made because it was shifting away from government contracts despite the vaccine’s development being publicly subsidized.
The government pays about $26 per dose.
Instead it will remain free — even for the uninsured — after federal funding for vaccines starts to deplete when the public health emergency ends in May.
“Everyone in the United States will have access to Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine regardless of their ability to pay,” the company said in a statement.
The announcement came after left-wing Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders called on Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel to testify about the price increase and the pharmaceutical industry in general during a Senate hearing scheduled for next month.
“I hope, I really do hope, that these people will reconsider this outrageous decision and decide not to raise prices for the vaccine,” Sanders said.
Bancel agreed to testify before the price increase was reversed.
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