Efficacious vaccine candidates are high in supply (moderna, Pfizer, j&j, AstraZeneca etc etc) - massive manufacturing capacity, testing and clinical trial ability however is not. If Pfizer hadn’t partnered with biontech they wouldn’t have idle manufacturing, they would have partnered with another lab to create something else.
Apple is a customer of TSMC - they pay for fab time to create a specific component they need for their devices. Pfizer and biontech however are splitting the development costs and sharing the profits. That is a very different relationship.
So if they're sharing everything, why is not BioNtech mentioned in the submission's title?
This America first thing is becoming really annoying for the rest of the world.
Germany and the EU funded much of the vaccine's development. It's the EU who is supplying the world with vaccines. The US only stand out by blocking exports.
I think the idea is that biontechs contribution is a dime a dozen at this point - the heavy lifting (ie where demand outstrips supply) is being done by Pfizer not biontech
If this were not the case why is it that the EU vaccine rollout has been dismal compared to the US and UK? It’s because they don’t have the negotiating power that comes with having what is actually in demand - production capacity.
> why is it that the EU vaccine rollout has been dismal compared to the US and UK?
Because both do not export any vaccine. And the EU does. So even Canada cannot get vaccines from the US and gets it from the EU which exported about half its production outside the EU. Some even went to the US.
Partnering with Pfizer was done because the BioNtech CEO knew people at Pfizer from before. If they would’ve chosen e.g. Bayer (which is what CureVac did) the story of would’ve been different.
> Because both do not export any vaccine. And the EU does. So even Canada cannot get vaccines from the US
Blatantly Untrue - the US has directly exported vaccine to both Canada and Mexico and it’s companies are producing huge amounts of vaccine worldwide for over 70 countries right now. The UK has fallen short of its export commitments but that is a far cry from ‘do not export any vaccine’.
Again though this just comes back to leverage, the EU and it’s properties generally lack what is in demand: production capacity. That is why we have the short end of the stick right now, blaming everyone but ourselves only fans flames unnecessarily.
Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the United States to ensure Americans have priority access to free, safe, and effective COVID-19 vaccines. After ensuring the ability to meet the vaccination needs of the American people, it is in the interest of the United States to facilitate international access to United States Government COVID-19 Vaccines.
Which in no way directly excludes the export of vaccine to other countries - as I have mentioned the US has directly exported to canada and mexico and its properties are creating vaccine for over 70 countries including every country in the EU.
Can you point to a source for your claim that the US has exported (present perfect) vaccines to anybody? All I can find is news articles from about 10 days ago about plans to export vaccines, not mentioning a date.
