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They are all incredibly affordable, measured against the benefits to individuals and society.

by esja 6y ago

sanxiyn 6y ago
I agree, but those are not in contradiction. 1000x affordable vaccine is still an order of magnitude more affordable than 100x affordable vaccine.
jonplackett 6y ago
You can say they are cheap compared, but affordable is what can actually be afforded. And for a country like India with a billion people, paying ~$1 per dose VS something like $15 for moderna is a huge difference. All I'm saying is you should give more credit to companies doing the right thing and essentially giving the vaccine away at cost while there's a pandemic, even if their vaccine isn't quite as good.
- esja 6y ago
  The companies giving this away at cost are obviously doing something good for the world. That's not my point. I just find it odd that companies like Pfizer and Moderna are about to lift the world out of a catastrophe in unprecedented fashion, and we have people complaining about prices which are not overly high when compared to the benefit, even in the developing world. India's GDP in 2019 was almost 2.9 trillion and the virus has knocked 300 billion or more off that just this year. Even under your extreme example they aren't going to care about spending an "extra" 14 billion.
  - jonplackett 6y ago
    I’m not complaining about the prices. I think they’ve done something amazing for sure. I just think the companies doing that same thing, and at cost are more amazing. Without the Oxford one, a lot of countries around the world would still be just as screwed as they are today. But don’t get me wrong I think what they all have done is amazing. And it makes me happy.
- valarauko 6y ago
  In India the Pfizer vaccine works out to $35 per dose, and AstraZeneca at $3 * [Pfizer Vaccine's Price May Be Throwing off Indian Government, Report Says - The Wire Science](https://science.thewire.in/health/pfizer-vaccines-price-may-be-throwing-off-indian-government-report-says/ https://science.thewire.in/health/pfizer-vaccines-price-may-...)

They are all incredibly affordable, measured against the benefits to individuals and society.

by esja 6y ago

They are all incredibly affordable, measured against the benefits to individuals and society.

I agree, but those are not in contradiction. 1000x affordable vaccine is still an order of magnitude more affordable than 100x affordable vaccine.

jonplackett 6y ago

You can say they are cheap compared, but affordable is what can actually be afforded. And for a country like India with a billion people, paying ~$1 per dose VS something like $15 for moderna is a huge difference. All I'm saying is you should give more credit to companies doing the right thing and essentially giving the vaccine away at cost while there's a pandemic, even if their vaccine isn't quite as good.

esja 6y ago
The companies giving this away at cost are obviously doing something good for the world. That's not my point. I just find it odd that companies like Pfizer and Moderna are about to lift the world out of a catastrophe in unprecedented fashion, and we have people complaining about prices which are not overly high when compared to the benefit, even in the developing world. India's GDP in 2019 was almost 2.9 trillion and the virus has knocked 300 billion or more off that just this year. Even under your extreme example they aren't going to care about spending an "extra" 14 billion.
- jonplackett 6y ago
  I’m not complaining about the prices. I think they’ve done something amazing for sure. I just think the companies doing that same thing, and at cost are more amazing. Without the Oxford one, a lot of countries around the world would still be just as screwed as they are today. But don’t get me wrong I think what they all have done is amazing. And it makes me happy.
valarauko 6y ago
In India the Pfizer vaccine works out to $35 per dose, and AstraZeneca at $3 * [Pfizer Vaccine's Price May Be Throwing off Indian Government, Report Says - The Wire Science](https://science.thewire.in/health/pfizer-vaccines-price-may-be-throwing-off-indian-government-report-says/ https://science.thewire.in/health/pfizer-vaccines-price-may-...)