Argentina, South Africa, Brazil, and Turkey — all countries that hosted vaccine trials — will have to be satisfied with Pfizer’s gratitude, because (like most countries in the world) they won’t be receiving enough of the vaccine to inoculate their populations anytime soon.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and Germany — along with Canada and the rest of the European Union — have contracted for enough doses of various Covid-19 vaccines to inoculate their populations several times over.
A relative lack of oversight and lower operating costs are some of the reasons that pharmaceutical companies do the majority of their research in less affluent countries.
The ethical problem this creates — that people in developing countries have less access to medical breakthroughs despite shouldering a disproportionate share of the risk that enables their development — far predates the coronavirus pandemic.
The deadly consequences of delayed access to the Covid-19 vaccine will be on display in the coming year.
It’s already clear that the majority of countries will not have enough, while rich countries are hoarding vaccine supplies.
Pfizer has made an estimated $975 million from the vaccine this year, and is expected to earn another $19 billion in 2021.
Pfizer’s profit margin on the vaccine is estimated at between 60% and 80%.
Moderna is projected to make more than $10 billion from its vaccine next year.
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The coronavirus pandemic exacerbated racial and class inequalities, and put a spotlight on a system that deems some lives essential and others expendable. Here's how we covered a pandemic that has claimed over 344 thousand lives in the U.S.
In March, @fastlerner and @lhfang exposed how a coronavirus treatment developed by Gilead Sciences was granted “rare disease” status, potentially limiting its affordability. Days later, Gilead asked the FDA to rescind the drug's special status. interc.pt/35200I2
Two weeks as a New York City nurse in the coronavirus pandemic:
“I just can’t help but think that being a collective force of primarily women — many immigrant, many women of color ... that our lives are somehow expendable.”
From sophisticated electronic surveillance against American protesters, to Zoom’s “fuzzy” encryption claims, 2020 was a big year for technology reporting at The Intercept. Here are some of our highlights.
An internal presentation at Facebook discussed the “benefits” of “content control,” and offered one example of a topic employers might find useful to blacklist: the word “unionize.” interc.pt/3mXl5K0
Internal TikTok moderation documents made public by The Intercept revealed that the China-based social media company censored various forms of political speech, and instructed moderators to suppress posts by “ugly” people and the poor to attract new users. interc.pt/384xWWu
From the threat posed by far-right terrorism, to a Pentagon “Zbellion” war game, here’s some of our best national security reporting of 2020.
In buried report, U.S. government admits major failures in confronting domestic terrorism. interc.pt/3n2TreK
The FBI has long pursued advanced technological tools to rapidly predict crime and locate potential suspects. The bureau's embrace of powerful mass location data through a firm such as Venntel represents a potential new era. interc.pt/3aWAsjn
Here's a look back at some of our best politics reporting of the year.
The corruption and politicization of the Department of Justice under William Barr is complete. It will take a generation to reestablish its credibility and independence, writes James Risen. interc.pt/382M2I4
Following an abrupt reversal by Trump, Chinese telecom giant ZTE’s path back into business remained shrouded in mystery. An Intercept investigation reveals some missing pieces — centering on Eric Branstad, the son of Trump's ex-ambassador to China. interc.pt/3aXUVEz
As 2020 comes to a close, we're taking a look back at some of our best reporting on the environment.
The American landscape has become 48 times more toxic to insects since the 1990s, a shift largely fueled by rising use of neonicotinoid insecticides.
Banned in the EU, a sophisticated information war has kept these insecticides on the U.S. market. interc.pt/38OBYBv
Amid California's severe wildfires, grape growers in Sonoma County got exemptions to send in farmworkers who have few alternatives or options for support into fire evacuation zones. interc.pt/2MpcaED