Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 03, 2025

Vaccine business: The days of free vaccines may soon end in the U.S.

Vaccine business: The days of free vaccines may soon end in the U.S.

The U.S. government is planning to stop paying for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, and shift the bill onto the health care industry and eventually the consumer—possibly making it one of the first countries to end the practice of giving out coronavirus vaccines for free.

The Department of Health and Human Services will hold a planning session on Aug. 30, the Wall Street Journal reported, to bring together representatives from the health care industry as well as state health departments, to discuss the commercialization of COVID-19 treatments.

The move comes a few days after White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha confirmed on Tuesday that the Biden Administration had taken steps to get past the crisis phase of the pandemic and stop buying vaccines, treatments, and tests as early as fall.

“One of the things we’ve spent a lot of time thinking about in the last many months…is getting us out of that acute emergency phase where the U.S. government is buying the vaccines, buying the treatments, buying the diagnostic tests,” Jha said at an event sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

“My hope is that in 2023, you’re going to see the commercialization of almost all of these products. Some of that is actually going to begin this fall, in the days and weeks ahead,” Jha said.

It was always the plan under both the Trump and Biden administration to push the pricing and coverage control of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments onto the healthcare industry.

As COVID cases drop and the pandemic response funding runs short, the U.S. is determined to privatize COVID-19 treatment by the end of the year.

“We’ve known at some point we’d need to move over into the commercial market, and we’re approaching that time now,” Dawn O’Connell, assistant secretary at HHS for preparedness and response, told the WSJ.


How it will work


The move to shift payments for COVID-19 drugs to the commercial market may still take months.

At the upcoming HHS meeting, company representatives and officials still need to discuss reimbursement and coverage, as well as regulatory, market dynamic, and equity issues.

Insurers and pharmacy benefit managers negotiating with drug manufacturers means prices would rise higher than what the federal government paid.

With each insurer paying for the vaccine, premiums are also likely to rise for the consumer, Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, told the WSJ.

“Without the government purchasing vaccine doses in advance, the U.S. may fall behind other countries in getting quick access to boosters and new variant-specific vaccines,” Levitt said.

A key point of the meeting will be discussing how the 30 million uninsured Americans will access COVID-19 resources.

“Right now everybody can walk into CVS and get a vaccine. I want to make sure when we make this transition, we don’t end up in a point where nobody can get a vaccine because we didn’t get the transition right,” Jha said at the event on Tuesday.

The move also might create a challenge for those suffering from long COVID, which is known to increase the risk of cognitive deficit (also known as brain fog), psychotic disorders, and epilepsy for two years after a COVID diagnosis, according to a study published in The Lancet Psychiatry on Wednesday.


Wrestling for funding


The Biden administration asked Congress in April for $10 billion to fund the ongoing pandemic response efforts. After failing to persuade Congress, White House officials said they would have to repurpose federal COVID-19 funds to supply more antiviral pills and vaccines.

As funding in government faltered, pharmaceutical companies have been eagerly watching the situation, as commercialization of COVID-19 treatments could bring a windfall worth billions of dollars in profits.

The 10 largest pharmaceutical companies by revenue brought in a collective $734.8 billion in revenue and $130.6 billion in profits in 2021, according to the 2022 Fortune Global 500, from the 12.2 billion doses that have been administered globally as of July 17.


Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Dutch government falls as far-right leader Wilders quits coalition
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
×