Moderna anticipates that its COVID vaccine will be priced at approximately $130 in the US

Patrick Wingrove

(Reuters) – Moderna Inc expects to price its COVID-19 vaccine at around $130 per dose in the U.S. going forward as purchases move to the private sector from the government, the company’s president Stephen Hoge said in an interview on Monday.

“There are different customers negotiating different prices right now, which is why it’s a little bit complicated,” Hoge said ahead of a Congressional hearing run by Democratic U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders on Moderna’s pricing plans.

Moderna had previously stated that it was looking at pricing its COVID vaccine between $110 and $130 per dose in the United States. This is similar to what Pfizer Inc indicated in October for its COVID shots in partnership with BioNTech.

Hoge explained that seasonal influenza vaccines are covered under Medicare for seniors. It costs $70 to get the dose. Hoge explained that the pricing logic of the company was based on the fact that there were more deaths and hospitalizations from COVID over the past three months than from flu.

According to the Biden Administration, the pandemic public emergency of pandemic influenza will be over by May. This means that price negotiations will shift to other purchasers and not just the federal government.

(Reporting and editing by Patrick Wingrove; Editing done by Caroline Humer & Bill Berkrot