The World's Most Popular Vaccine is Pfizer... Sold 1 Billion More Doses Than AZ

Switching to Pfizer in Various Countries... UK and Turkey Use Pfizer for Booster Shots
Brazil to Stop Using 'Sinovac' Vaccine from Next Year

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] The COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech has become the best-selling COVID-19 vaccine worldwide, leading to a rise in its price.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 11th (local time) that dozens of countries from South America to the Middle East are switching to the Pfizer vaccine as their COVID-19 vaccine.

Turkey introduced both the Pfizer vaccine and China's Sinovac vaccine, but recently has allowed a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine for those who have received two doses of the Sinovac vaccine.

The United Kingdom recommends the Pfizer vaccine as a booster shot instead of the AstraZeneca vaccine produced domestically. Argentina even amended its national vaccine procurement law to contract with Pfizer.

Brazil announced its vaccination plan for next year, deciding to exclude the Sinovac vaccine.

According to Duke University's Global Health Innovation Center, 3.5 billion doses of the Pfizer vaccine have been sold worldwide. This is 1 billion doses more than AstraZeneca (AZ), the world's second-largest COVID-19 vaccine supplier. Pfizer is expected to produce 4 billion doses next year.

Regarding the high preference for the Pfizer vaccine, government officials and researchers analyzed that it is because the Pfizer vaccine is effective against the Delta variant and, unlike AstraZeneca or Johnson & Johnson's Janssen vaccine, it does not have concerns about blood clot side effects, WSJ reported.

The Pfizer vaccine does not lose immunity quickly like China's Sinovac. Also, unlike Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, its supply is not limited.

As demand for the Pfizer vaccine increases, some countries are contracting for Pfizer vaccines at high prices.

An official from Israel's Ministry of Health revealed on the local public broadcaster Kan in December last year that they purchased the Pfizer vaccine at $62 per dose.

This is the highest price paid worldwide.

Pfizer also raised the price of its vaccine in the European Union (EU) from $18 to $23 per dose, and Brazil contracted at $12 per dose in May, which is $2 higher than the contract in March, WSJ reported.

In response, Pfizer stated, "Middle-income countries are supplied vaccines at half the price of wealthy countries, and low-income countries are sold at cost."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.