vaccine maker Moderna feels the pressure

I’ve been emailing you about Moderna’s intention to more than quadruple the price of the COVID vaccine it markets, which was developed with government scientists and almost entirely funded by the American people. Thousands of Public Citizen supporters have taken action to tell Moderna’s CEO not to be so greedy. Meanwhile, Sen. Bernie Sanders called Moderna’s billionaire CEO to appear before Congress about the company’s price gouging. And then, on Wednesday, the company announced that it would keep the vaccine free for uninsured and under-insured Americans, saying, “Everyone in the United States will have access to Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine regardless of their ability to pay.” This commitment was directly and entirely due to pressure. However, it is less than it appears. Whether the uninsured actually gain access will depend on Moderna carrying out its pledge in good faith and breaking from Big Pharma’s standard operating procedure for patient access programs — which promise a lot and deliver very little. Even more fundamentally, Moderna has not retreated from its plans to jack up COVID vaccine prices. Unless the company changes course, all of us will still pay for Moderna’s greed through taxes and higher insurance premiums. The company hopes we’ll be distracted and ignore its price-gouging scheme. No way. [A message to Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel:]( [We are not turning down the heat. The vaccine you’re selling was developed almost entirely with public funds and has already made you a billionaire many times over. Abandon your plans to jack up the price of the COVID-19 vaccine.]( [Click to add your name.]( Thanks for taking action. For progress, - Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen Public Citizen | 1600 20th Street NW | Washington DC 20009 | [Unsubscribe](