Arms soon won’t be the only things getting a pinch from the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine — wallets may, as well.
Pfizer is expected to charge patients between $110 and $130 per vaccine when the federal government stops footing the bill, but it will try to keep the out-of-pocket price at zero for patients who have health insurance, according to the company.
“We are confident that the U.S. price point of the COVID-19 vaccine reflects its overall cost-effectiveness and ensures the price will not be a barrier for access for patients,” Pfizer executive Angela Lukin said, per Reuters.
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At the moment, the United States pays about $30 per dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty vaccine. Officials have said the funding could dry up this fall ahead of the winter season, when cases have skyrocketed during the past two years of the pandemic.
This is partly because Congress has not approved additional pandemic spending, including the $15 billion requested by the White House.
When the funding dries up, the financial burden for the vaccine will fall on the shoulders of the broader U.S. healthcare system, similar to flu shots. Healthcare experts have contended that the COVID-19 vaccine is likely to become a seasonal shot similar to the one for the flu.
Pfizer reportedly expects shots to be distributed via primary healthcare providers by early 2023, depending on the longevity of the government supply.
The $110 to $130 price point is specific to patients 12 and older. So far, the company has not yet decided on a price point for its COVID-19 vaccine aimed at younger patients.
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Both Moderna and Pfizer have recently begun rolling out their bivalent booster shots, which target the original strain of COVID-19, as well as the omicron variant and some of its subvariants.
At least 14.8 million U.S. residents have received the updated booster shot since it became available last month, per Reuters.
