Help Us Crowdsource Vaccine Prices Around The World

Médecins sans Frontières is calling for the cost of the life-saving pneumococcal vaccine to be slashed, as it has become prohibitively expensive for poorer countries. Tell us how much it is costing you

Aid agency Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) has called for pharmaceutical companies GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer to cut the cost of a life-saving vaccine that risks being priced out of national immunisation plans.  In a report comparing vaccine prices around the world, MSF found that domination of the market by a small group of pharmaceutical companies has caused prices to soar, with the cost of a basic vaccine package increasing by 68% in the past 14 years, putting some vaccines out of the reach of some developing countries’ health budgets.

Of particular note was the pneumococcal vaccine, which protects children from pneumonia – the biggest killer of children under five in developing countries. The vaccine accounts for 45% of the total cost of vaccinating a child, and MSF wants the vaccine reduced to $5 per child in poorer countries.  The report said there is a striking lack of data on vaccine prices, leaving countries with limited information to guide them in negotiations with pharmaceutical companies...