The race to create a coronavirus vaccine has begun amongst competing companies to

develop a cure. Companies such as Pfizer and Moderna realize the opportunity to create lucrative
deals with other countries to maximize financial benefit. The main issue is estimating how much
a dosage of the vaccine will costs. On the low end, price may be as low as $3 and on the high
end, up to $60. Competition outside the USA are establishing competitive business environments
by keeping prices reasonably low. India has criticized western drug companies of propping up
prices to create dominance in one sector. Software developer turned into health philanthropists;
Bill Gates supports the notion of a three-tier system. He proposes that rich countries handle the
fixed costs of a vaccine, middle income countries should incur some of the costs and low-income
countries deal with the marginal costs. This system will allow for a competitive business
landscape as prices are kept low. There are ethical concerns regarding the vaccine, should drug
companies focus on profits or the people?

In my opinion, propping up the price of the coronavirus vaccine will be a huge detriment
to companies ethically and from a human benefit perspective. The appropriate stance is to take
the Bill Gates approach. Implementing a three-tier system will allow for competitive pricing
amongst drug companies, reducing the prices paid by the consumer. This approach also
maximizes the benefit for the people because billions of people will have access to the vaccine as
opposed to a select few. Supply should be available for the rising demand because of the low
prices. Incentivizing profits by introducing expensive price points may be profitable however,
this method will be economically disadvantageous for the majority. Companies need to take
initiative and be honest with the data and findings they discover regarding the vaccine. Hiding
important information only creates emotional unrest amongst the general population. Inelastic
demand is a key concept within the article. The change in quantity demand is less than the price
change. The reasoning for this is because the vaccine has become a fundamental requirement to
stop the spread of the virus. Therefore, the change in price will not impact the number of
vaccines created. Some of the questions I have regarding the vaccine are: if substitutes become
available for the vaccine, how will price be affected? What are the potential health affects of
administering the vaccine? How will the dosage amount based on a variety of factors affect the
price? Overall, the problems associated with the vaccine and the unanswered questions have
created an uncertain environment for the world.

https://hbr.org/2020/04/a-covid-19-vaccine-will-need-equitable-global-distribution
youtube video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxulL8Y16W0