Pfizer and Moderna have raised the prices of their vaccines for Europe. According to an exclusive published by The Financial Times, the Pfizer vaccine will go from 15.50 to 19.50 euros and Moderna, from 19 to 21 euros. It means a rise of between 10 and 25% in the prices of some of the only available defenses against the coronavirus.

The two U.S. companies have declined to give explanations after the publication of their prices. However, the European Union has slipped through third sources that these negotiations had already closed months ago. Their goal was to ensure that the doses were produced on European soil. The Pfizer vaccine is produced 50% with the German company, BioNTech.

The activist organization People’s Vaccine has denounced that Pfizer and Moderna behave as an “oligopoly” to pressure governments around the world and obtained a $41 billion profit. According to the entity's calculations, the EU would have already paid more than all of its budget for vaccines to the two companies.

Despite the news, it is impossible to know if Europe is paying for vaccines that are more expensive or cheaper than the United States. The price paid by other countries is not in the public domain either. The pharmaceutical companies assured at the beginning of the distribution of the vaccines that the prices would be cheaper for poor or developing countries.

The success of the vaccines, which manage to avoid death and the most serious outcomes of the disease, have pushed the price higher. In addition, the supply chains of Pfizer and Moderna far exceed those of AstraZeneca and Janssen.

Despite press publications, the European Commission has always refused to confirm the figures of some agreements that are confidential.

It is not the first time that the price of vaccines has been revealed in Europe. The first negotiation was one of the best-kept secrets until December 2020. Then, the Secretary of State for the Public Budget of Belgium posted the figures on her Twitter account, which revealed her country had paid 12 euros for each Pfizer vaccine, 14.7 for each of Moderna and 1.78 for AstraZeneca doses. After a few hours, the post was deleted.

In January of this year, the EU decided to publish parts of the contract with AstraZeneca after the British company began to delay the delivery of doses without reason. In it, it could be seen that the continent was buying 300 million doses in advance, although prices and delivery times were not disclosed.

What the publication did confirm is that the company promised to deliver vaccines manufactured from any of its production plants, including those located in the United Kingdom. No further information was available because 95% of the contract was crossed out at the request of AstraZeneca.