‘Taking Taxpayers for a Ride’: Moderna to Charge $32-$37/Dose for Covid-19 Vaccine Developed Entirely With Public Funds

https://citizentruth.org/taking-taxpayers-for-a-ride-moderna-to-charge-32-37-dose-for-covid-19-vaccine-developed-entirely-with-public-funds/



“It ought to be the people’s vaccine, not a new taxpayer burden.”

(By: Jake Johnson, Common Dreams) Consumer advocates warned Wednesday that pharmaceutical giant Moderna is “taking taxpayers for a ride” after the company announced plans to charge between $32 and $37 per dose for a potential Covid-19 vaccine developed entirely with funds from the U.S. federal government.

“Taxpayers are paying for 100% of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine development. All of it,” Peter Maybarduk, director of the Access to Medicines Program at Public Citizen, said in a statement. “Yet taxpayers may wind up paying tens of billions more to Moderna to buy our vaccine back, if it proves safe and effective.”

“The so-called Moderna vaccine belongs in significant part to the people of the U.S,” said Maybarduk. “We paid for it. Federal scientists led the way. It ought to be the people’s vaccine, not a new taxpayer burden.”


The experimental vaccine is currently undergoing a Phase 3 clinical trial that is expected to enroll around 30,000 adult volunteers who do not have Covid-19, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Trial results are expected as early as October.

“Results from early-stage clinical testing indicate the investigational mRNA-1273 vaccine is safe and immunogenic, supporting the initiation of a Phase 3 clinical trial,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in a statement last week.




Under pressure from advocacy groups to publicly disclose how its potential vaccine is being financed, Moderna told Axios Wednesday that U.S. taxpayers are providing “100% funding of the program.”

Since April, the Massachusetts-based pharmaceutical company has received nearly a billion dollars in taxpayer grants to develop a vaccine as part of the Trump administration’s so-called Operation Warp Speed.

“The company received $483 million from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority in April to support its vaccine development,” CNBC reported. “Last month, it announced it received an additional $472 million from the U.S. government.”

Dean Baker, senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, wrote in a blog post Wednesday that “this funding paid for the research and testing” and “it also meant that the government took all the risk.”

“If Moderna’s vaccine turns out to be ineffective,” wrote Baker, “the government will be out the money, not Moderna.”

Despite the fact that Moderna’s price tag for its coronavirus vaccine is the highest yet announced by any corporation involved with Operation Warp Speed, Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel on Wednesday characterized the cost as a discount during a conference call announcing the company’s massive second-quarter revenue increase.

But Public Citizen noted the absurdity of charging the public anything at all for a vaccine developed entirely with taxpayer funding.

“They want us to buy back a vaccine developed with our tax dollars,” the group tweeted.

Cori Bush Commits to Primarying and Replacing Corporate Democrats: "take these seats!"

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qSSpLse3jA&feature

Medical Experts Speak Out as Trump Doubles Down on False Claim That Children Are 'Virtually Immune' to Covid-19

"I am a pediatric cardiologist. They can get sick. Some do get sick. Very sick. Some of them end up intubated."


by
Jake Johnson, staff writer

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/08/06/medical-experts-speak-out-trump-doubles-down-false-claim-children-are-virtually




Medical professionals were compelled to speak out Wednesday after President Donald Trump defended and doubled down on his claim that children are "virtually immune" to Covid-19, a dangerous falsehood the president has been spreading as part of his effort to pressure schools to reopen in the fall.

"I'm talking about from getting very sick," Trump said at a Covid-19 briefing Wednesday when asked to address comments he made about the supposed "immunity" of children during a "Fox & Friends" interview earlier in the day. "If you look at children, I mean they're able to throw it off very easily. And it's an amazing thing... They may get it, but they get it and it doesn't have much of an impact on them."

Shortly after Trump's briefing, Twitter and Facebook both removed videos posted by the president's campaign account and personal page claiming that children are "almost immune from this disease." Both platforms said the videos violated their rules against disseminating misinformation about Covid-19.

On Twitter, medical experts condemned Trump's comments as both factually inaccurate and highly irresponsible.


"I am a pediatric cardiologist," wrote Dr. Keila Lopez, assistant professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. "They can get sick. Some do get sick. Very sick. Some of them end up intubated; some on IV cardiac meds; some on heart lung bypass machines because of cardiac involvement from multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C)."

Dr. Leana Wen, visiting professor at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University, applauded Facebook's decision to remove Trump's post downplaying the threat Covid-19 poses to children.

"Children do become infected," tweeted Wen. "Some become very ill. Tragically, some have died. Kids are also vectors for transmission to parents and others around them."

Latin America is now region with most COVID-19 deaths

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxzspOQuHgE&feature

Over 50 House Democrats Rip Fed for Allowing Mass Public-Sector Layoffs by Favoring Big Corporations Over Local Governments

"The Federal Reserve could prevent massive public sector layoffs. Instead, they've structured their lending so it's functionally unusable for most states and cities."


by
Jake Johnson, staff writer

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/08/06/over-50-house-democrats-rip-fed-allowing-mass-public-sector-layoffs-favoring-big




A group of more than 50 House Democrats on Thursday slammed the Federal Reserve for allowing mass public-sector layoffs by refusing to offer state and local governments the same favorable lending terms it has granted private corporations.


"There have been 1.5 million public-sector layoffs since March, and unless the Fed aligns its assistance to states and cities with its emergency lending to the private sector, mass unemployment, and emergency conditions will persist for years," the lawmakers wrote. "To that end, it must be noted that many of the Federal Reserve's corporate lending programs contain terms that are far more favorable than those included in the MLF."In a letter (pdf) to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, the lawmakers said the "harsh terms and penalty rates" the central bank set for its Municipal Liquidity Facility (MLF)—a $500 billion state and local aid initiative launched in April—has made the program "functionally unusable for the vast majority of the state and local governments that are technically eligible."

"This includes, for example, far cheaper pricing, far longer terms, and even payment deferrals for corporations borrowing from the Main Street Lending Program, the Secondary Corporate Credit Facility, and the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility," the group of Democrats added, urging the Fed to establish more flexible and inexpensive lending terms for state and local governments.

The lawmakers also demanded that the Fed to extend MLF eligibility to smaller counties and territories.

"The Federal Reserve should make these fixes to the MLF before the damage to our economy and our communities becomes irreparable," the coalition of Democrats wrote.


Economists have warned that failing to rescue state and local governments as they face crushing budget shortfalls could send shockwaves through the entire U.S. economy and possibly lead to a "prolonged depression."

"The projected shortfall for 2021 fiscal year, which began on July 1 for most states, is much deeper than the shortfalls faced in any year of the Great Recession," the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities noted last month. "Without additional, substantial federal help, they likely will deeply cut critical program areas such as education and healthcare, lay off teachers and other workers in even greater numbers, and cancel contracts with many businesses."

Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and one of the letter's signatories, tweeted Thursday that "it's time for the Federal Reserve to stop treating corporations better than state and local governments."

The letter was also signed by Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), CPC co-chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).

Bharat Ramamurti, a member of the Congressional Oversight Committee tasked with monitoring Covid-19 bailout funds, said he hopes the Fed heeds the Democratic lawmakers' demands.

"There's no justification for them to offer worse rates and terms to states and cities than to risky companies with a far higher risk of default," Ramamurti tweeted. "And we know that sharp cuts in state and local spending will cause serious economic harm."

Could an Old Vaccine Help Against COVID-19?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3NMLC3V-ss&feature

Warning of GOP Voter Suppression, Progressives Urge Democrats to Reject Any Covid-19 Deal Without Election Assistance

"Republicans cannot be allowed to suppress the vote in the middle of a pandemic."


by
Jake Johnson, staff writer

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/08/06/warning-gop-voter-suppression-progressives-urge-democrats-reject-any-covid-19-deal




Progressive voting rights groups are calling on Democrats in Congress to refuse to cut a deal on any Covid-19 relief proposal without money for election assistance, warning that exclusion of the funding could suppress turnout in November.


"Republicans cannot be allowed to suppress the vote in the middle of a pandemic," the groups said, "and that's why we support Democrats in both chambers, who are staying firm and using their leverage to protect our democracy by ensuring that election funding, census funding, and an extension of the census reporting deadline are included in a final brokered deal."In a joint statement Thursday, Stand Up America, Color of Change, Indivisible, Let America Vote/End Citizens United Action Fund, and Public Citizen said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Republicans "are willfully ignoring the threat this pandemic poses to our democracy in an effort to suppress the vote."

Politico reported Wednesday that Republicans oppose additional election assistance money because they believe "Democrats are trying to fund a massive mail-in ballot program."


The Covid-19 stimulus plan Senate Republicans released last month does not propose a single dollar in election assistance funding despite pleas from state officials for additional money to ensure that voting is made as safe as possible amid the pandemic.

The GOP legislation does call for $29.4 billion in funding for the Pentagon, including $8 billion for new weapons.

"If Republicans believe we can afford $8 billion for defense contractors and nearly $2 billion to remodel the FBI headquarters, then we can certainly afford $3.6 billion in federal funding for safe, secure elections and a deadline extension for the Census Bureau to ensure communities of color aren't erased on the census," the progressive groups said.

"Anything less," the groups added, "would not only hurt our elections this year, but damage our democracy for years to come—and that's why Republicans cannot be allowed to get away with census and voter suppression."