US drugmaker Pfizer and Moderna have raised the price of their vaccines against Covid-19 in their latest supply contracts with the European Union. The terms of the agreements for the supply of 2.1 billion jabs to be delivered until 2023 were renegotiated after clinical studies showed that the new mRNA vaccine technology developed by these two companies delivered higher protection rates than shots manufactured by other companies, such as Oxford/AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. The new price for the Pfizer shot was reported to be 19.50 euros compared with 15.50 euros previously, while the price of a dose of the Moderna vaccine was set at $25.50, up from $22.60 in the first procurement deal. Observers have said that the price hikes reflected the continued demand for effective jabs and that governments had become a “captive audience” to pharmaceutical companies.
Meanwhile, around 200,000 people took to the streets of Paris and other French cities on Saturday (31 July) and tens of thousands more on Sunday and Monday (1-2 August) against the mandatory Covid-19 health pass needed to enter museums, cinemas, swimming pools or public venues. This was the third weekend people protested against the measure, recently approved by the French Parliament – in a bid to halt the fourth wave of infections driven by the Delta variant. More than 600 people have been arrested after participating in similar protests in Germany against the government’s coronavirus measures. About 13 separate demonstrations took place around Berlin on Sunday (1 August), despite being banned by a court order and participants saying they would not follow safety rules. German government has announced it would start offering Covid booster shots in September and make it easier for 12- to 17-year-olds to get a jab, the health ministry said, amid concerns about the spread of the Delta variant.
The Greek government has sent police to holidays hot spots such as Mykonos and Ios as concerns mounted over tourists flouting health measures amid the tourism season, especially among the young. The cluster of 13 Greek south Aegean islands was marked ‘dark red’ on the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control map on Thursday (30 July), meaning all but essential travel to and from the region is discouraged. A similar situation in Spain has prompted the authorities on Ibiza to reportedly look for foreigners between 30 and 40 years old willing to party on the popular holiday island in the name of combating the coronavirus pandemic. Spanish officials on Ibiza are working to assemble a squad from abroad who would be capable of infiltrating parties that breach local coronavirus regulations and flagging them to authorities. The idea comes as the island, where the renowned nightlife and music scene has long drawn tourists from around the world, seeks to tackle a two-week Covid-19 incidence rate that has soared to 1,814 cases per 100,000 of the population. With most nightclubs shuttered and gatherings in restaurants and bars limited to small groups, officials have blamed illegal parties, generally in private apartments and houses, for the spike in cases.
