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Pfizer, Moderna seen reaping billions from Covid-19 vaccine booster market

reuters.com

21–30 of 97 posts

Re: Pfizer, Moderna seen reaping billions from Covid-19 vaccine booster market

#21
post #13

What I don’t understand is how we can shut down the economy with a huge impact on small businesses, but not force the drug manufactures to share the capability with the rest of the world. We complain about the unvaccinated in the US and the possibility of mutations, but then don’t do everything we can to help vaccinate the world and prevent mutations. And Russia and China are sharing the less effective vaccines they…

To be fair, the vaccines we have today were literally the first ones out of the gate, and they should be considered a stopgap solution that only serves to mitigate the problems caused by the global pandemic, but they patently don't work in eliminating it or even reach herd immunity.

Basically the current batch of vaccines (the best ones, to boot) just train the immune system for it to have a fighting chance at not being overwhelmed by covid. But that's it.

Some vaccination locations even make it their point to distribute pamphlets stating quite clear that the vaccine is not a silver bullet, and all basic health and higiene precautions in place should continue to be followed.

It's far too early to talk about preventing mutations or any scenario where the current vaccines making covid is a thing of the past. If anything, the economical gains from the vaccines illustrate that much needs to be done to get a better, long-term solution.

Re: Pfizer, Moderna seen reaping billions from Covid-19 vaccine booster market

#23
post #12

Medicine is the only industry that can sell flawed products, offer no guarantees, and charge arbitrary prices for services without any consequence. Anyone else see parallels to organized religions of old? They even operate in the same space... curing the sick, promising long life, dictating the right way to live, holding the key to life and death. They have ordained priests that hold exclusive rights to practice the…

> Medicine is the only industry that can sell flawed products, offer no guarantees, and charge arbitrary prices for services without any consequence.

Where do you frame mandatory requirements for clinical trials along with your personal assertion regarding "flawed products with no guarantees" ?

Re: Pfizer, Moderna seen reaping billions from Covid-19 vaccine booster market

#24
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like literally every living system.

we live in a world of cults, but somehow think we're more enlightened than our ancestors.

our ancestors saw patterns in the stars; we see patterns in molecules and such. Only the tools of observation have changed, our minds stayed the same.

Re: Pfizer, Moderna seen reaping billions from Covid-19 vaccine booster market

#26
post #6
post #3

$60 billion for two years worth of shots? Sounds like a steal. Covid has cost the global economy Trillions and Trillions of dollars already, and all the downstream costs will probably add up to $100 trillion real dollars when factoring in inflation, money printing, national debt, state/provincial debts/local debts/consumer debt increases.

The costs of the pandemic are one side. The other is the cost of developing and producing the vaccines. In a normal market situation, prices are determined by supply and demand. But that's really not such a situation here. The question from the government's point of view has to be whether you could have had the vaccine cheaper. After all, large sums of money have already been invested by the states for research and d…

> In a normal market situation, prices are determined by supply and demand. But that's really not such a situation here.

Isn't it exactly the situation here?

I mean, a few months ago we even had central governments bid against their own local governments to have access to vaccines. Doesn't that lay out quite clearly that this is a demand-driven market?

Re: Pfizer, Moderna seen reaping billions from Covid-19 vaccine booster market

#27
post #12

Medicine is the only industry that can sell flawed products, offer no guarantees, and charge arbitrary prices for services without any consequence. Anyone else see parallels to organized religions of old? They even operate in the same space... curing the sick, promising long life, dictating the right way to live, holding the key to life and death. They have ordained priests that hold exclusive rights to practice the…

If you want 100% guarantees and no side effects make sure your creator is your doctor.

Re: Pfizer, Moderna seen reaping billions from Covid-19 vaccine booster market

#28
post #13

What I don’t understand is how we can shut down the economy with a huge impact on small businesses, but not force the drug manufactures to share the capability with the rest of the world. We complain about the unvaccinated in the US and the possibility of mutations, but then don’t do everything we can to help vaccinate the world and prevent mutations. And Russia and China are sharing the less effective vaccines they…

Forcing vaccine manufacturers to give away their vaccine creates strong incentives against inventing vaccines.

It works once, but the next pandemic may happen without any vaccines.

The consensual, win-win way is to buy vaccines from the manufacturers, at high prices. This makes manufacturers wealthy by making people healthy and aligns incentives for the common good.

Re: Pfizer, Moderna seen reaping billions from Covid-19 vaccine booster market

#29
post #13

What I don’t understand is how we can shut down the economy with a huge impact on small businesses, but not force the drug manufactures to share the capability with the rest of the world. We complain about the unvaccinated in the US and the possibility of mutations, but then don’t do everything we can to help vaccinate the world and prevent mutations. And Russia and China are sharing the less effective vaccines they…

Wait, i thought this is what we negotiated when the initial development and payment for the vaccine happened?!

Re: Pfizer, Moderna seen reaping billions from Covid-19 vaccine booster market

#30
post #23
post #12

Medicine is the only industry that can sell flawed products, offer no guarantees, and charge arbitrary prices for services without any consequence. Anyone else see parallels to organized religions of old? They even operate in the same space... curing the sick, promising long life, dictating the right way to live, holding the key to life and death. They have ordained priests that hold exclusive rights to practice the…

> Medicine is the only industry that can sell flawed products, offer no guarantees, and charge arbitrary prices for services without any consequence. Where do you frame mandatory requirements for clinical trials along with your personal assertion regarding "flawed products with no guarantees" ?

Did a doctor ever give you a guarantee that their treatment would heal you? Contrast with almost any other industry... the baker telling you "this piece of bread might cure your hunger, but there is a 10% risk that it will kill you instead". Clinical trials are in many cases smoke and mirrors - very elaborate and inscrutable, but provide no guarantees in the end. When it comes down to results of medical treatments, your mileage will vary and you take the responsibility upon yourself.
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