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Price of Pfizer COVID-19 shots may go up after US FDA 'full approval'— official

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ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA - The price of Pfizer&#x27;s COVID-19 vaccine may increase after United States drug regulators allowed its commercial use this week, an official said Thursday. </p><p>Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion said this could happen in the wake of the US Food and Drug Administration&#x27;s &quot;full approval&quot; of Pfizer&#x27;s COVID-19 vaccine, which may allow the purchase of the brand in pharmacies.</p><p>Full approval of American-made Pfizer by the Philippines&#x27; FDA is likely with the decision of its US counterpart. Concepcion says full approval of Moderna could follow suit. </p><p>The two brands are currently in use in the country&#x27;s inoculation program under emergency use authorization.</p><p>&quot;We&#x27;re also asking AstraZeneca na are you going to apply for full approval. Siyempre sa amin ayaw namin kasi mas mura ang zero profit nila na $5 &#x27;no, &#x27;pag full approval na &#x27;yan baka tumaas ang commercial price,&quot; Concepcion said. </p><p>(We are also asking AstraZeneca if they are going to apply for full approval. Of course, we don&#x27;t want that because their zero profit of $5 is cheaper. A price increase is possible if there is full approval of the vaccines.) </p><p>The US FDA on Monday said Pfizer vaccines have secured full approval in a bid to encourage residents to get their jabs amid vaccine hesitancy and increasing cases due to the COVID-19 Delta variant. </p><div><strong>BOOSTER SHOTS </strong></div><p>Concepcion also urged the government to plan the purchase of COVID-19 booster shots as early as now, even as it prioritizes inoculating more Filipinos with the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/08/25/21/5-billion-covid-shots-injected-worldwide-tally-shows">5 billion COVID shots injected worldwide, Agence tally shows</a></li></ul><p>&quot;Importante kasi dito, sa buong mundo dahil sa Delta variant, agawan ngayon sa mga bakuna. So there is short supply, even delays. And that&#x27;s normal. So we have to plan ahead and make sure that we reserve whatever is needed down the road,&quot; ani Concepcion. </p><p>(There is a race to buy vaccines across the world because of the Delta variant. So there is a short supply, even delays, and that&#x27;s normal. So we have to plan ahead and make sure that we reserve whatever is needed down the road.) </p><p>Businessmen also have plans to buy booster shots for mid-2022, he added. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/08/18/21/no-need-for-covid-booster-jabs-for-now-who">No need for COVID booster jabs for now - WHO</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/08/25/21/active-covid-19-cases-in-ncr-rise-amid-vaccination">Active COVID-19 cases in NCR rise 5-fold amid vaccination</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO </strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1751703" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

The price of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine may rise after US FDA allowed its commercial use this week, an official said Thursday.