Pneumonia: MSF calls for lower vaccine prices

Too expensive vaccines against a disease that is still too common. One million children die from pneumonia each year. However, they could have been vaccinated. But the doses are sold at too high a price. This is what Médecins Sans Frontières has been denouncing for several months. This October 12, the humanitarian association reiterates its action with a video campaign with biting irony.

Imagine a saleswoman hiding the cost of a cupcake from you… and asking you how much you are willing to pay. A gruesome negotiation ensues, where it is a question of the end of the world. It is in this opaque way that the prices of medicines are discussed, explains MSF in its latest campaign. “If an absurd pricing system prevents you from buying a cupcake, how could states with that same system buy vaccines? », Concludes the video.

A Fair shot – At the pastry shop through msf

In addition to this video campaign, the humanitarian association organized a punching action in front of Pfizer’s head office in New York (United States). MSF tried to put back 17 million bogus dollars, the equivalent of the sum collected each day by the laboratory thanks to the sales of the vaccine against pneumonia.

An international petition

According to the latest report from Médecins Sans Frontières, in the poorest countries, vaccinating a child costs 68 times more today than in 2001. However, the market is very profitable. “The pneumonia vaccine is the best marketed around the world. Last year, Pfizer sold it for $ 4.4 billion worldwide, said Dr Manica Balasegaram, director of MSF’s Access to Essential Medicines Campaign, in a statement. The prices Pfizer and GSK charge for the pneumonia vaccine are such that many governments and humanitarian organizations cannot immunize children. “

To put pressure on the two laboratories, MSF also launched an international petition. The objective is to reduce the price of the 3 doses of vaccine to 5 dollars (4.50 euros).

A fair shot through msf