In an exclusive excerpt from Moonshoot, Dr. Albert Bourla recalls the fraught negotiations with the Trump White House and other world leaders to distribute a Covid-19 shot at warp speed—and equitably.
, Dr. Albert Bourla recalls the fraught diplomacy with Jared Kushner to distribute the Covid-19 shot at warp speed to America first—and then the rest of the world.was one of our principles from the start. Vaccine diplomacy, the idea of using vaccines as a bargaining chip, was not and never has been. But, like an embassy, my office seemed to be on speed dial for world leaders.
The way we price our medicines is by calculating the value they bring to patients, to the healthcare system, and to society. Unlike what some may believe, good medicines reduce, rather than increase, the cost of a healthcare system. We try to calculate this economic value.
But soon thereafter, and while these discussions were ongoing, a level of discomfort started gnawing at me. I was thinking that we might be missing an opportunity to gain something more valuable than a fair financial return. We had a chance to gain back our industry's reputation, which had been under fire for the last two decades. In the U.S., pharmaceuticals ranked near the bottom of all sectors, right next to the government, in terms of reputation.
“In pandemics you are only as protected as your neighbor. And it is extremely important that we not let price be an obstacle to anyone. Not only because it is the right thing to do, but also because it will be a threat—not only to these countries, but to all,” I said. Most of the high-income countries were among the first to place orders to reserve doses of our vaccine through 2021. Europe, the U.S., Japan, and the UK were among the many that included us in their bets. Unfortunately, many other countries, particularly middle- and low-income, decided to go exclusively with other vaccines, either because mRNA technology was untested at that time or because other companies had promised local manufacturing options.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Mike Pence condemns Republican Russia 'apologists' as Donald Trump continues Vladimir Putin praiseMike Pence slammed Russia supporters and asked Joe Biden for more sanctions as Donald Trump continued to praise Vladimir Putin for his war on Ukraine.
Read more »
John Daly vents after his Trump call goes viralThe golfer, in town for the Hoag Classic in Newport Beach, was filmed during a call in which the former president says he’d ‘hit Moscow’ if Putin caused trouble
Read more »
‘Saturday Night Live’ Open Features Tucker Carlson, Trump and Fox News’ Pro-Russia CelebrationOver at Fox News, Laura Ingraham and Tucker Carlson have been among the loudest pro-Russia voices in recent years, and on this week’s “Saturday Night Live” cold open, they celebra…
Read more »
SNL Brutally Mocks Trump and Fox News’ Sick Putin PraiseThe latest edition of the sketch-comedy series opened with the “Fox News Ukrainian Invasion Celebration Spectacular,” live from Mar-a-Lago.
Read more »