Re: With something as bad as COCID-19,
The Pfizer vaccine costs $19.95 per shot. Two shots are required.
I think you'll find that's the MRsP rather than cost.. So $39.90 per treatment. Which may then need to be repeated, depending on how long immunity lasts for, and how long COVID remains a risk..
The Pfizer vaccine will be available for free in the US. Because it was bought for with US taxpayer money. Same for the Moderna and the AstraZeneca vaccines.
Is free too expensive for you?
So not free, still $39.90, just purchased on behalf of all Americans by the US taxpayers.. Who may also have paid for a lot of the R&D via government grants. So basically socialising the costs, and privatising the profits. But that's a theme wrt COVID and responses. The US may hand out another $1tn in relief funds, which give or take the economics of money printing, isn't free. Same with any post-pandemic spending plans to 'Build Back Better'. Or Greener.
Why don't you go to Russia - or China - and get vaccinated for COVID? Their "vaccine" is available right now. You don't have to wait for those stupid US or EU safety approvals.
That highlights some interesting challenges wrt global pandemic management. So for a long time, we've had travel vaccinations, eg needing Yellow/Scarlet fever vaccination to travel to the swamps of Canvey Island. There's presumably some international agreement that recognises those vaccinations, so people are safe to travel, and return. Which presumably should be necessary with COVID vaccinations, especially if those become a requirement for travel. AFAIK the WHO is trying to wrangle that problem, so keeping a master list of vaguely functional vaccines.
Then there's 'patient choice'. So in the US, adverts bombard me with reasons to buy expensive, branded prescription drugs rather than cheap generic equivalents. Now, we have a slew of COVID vaccines ranging from traditional attenuated to ones based on the humble adenovirus, or the more novel mRNA versions.. Which I guess is good news given some vaccines may be more suitable for some patients than others. But patient choice potentially removed, ie you'll get Pfizer, and don't pull that face. But then the drug dealers would want exclusivity, because that means $$$, and trying to explain the pros/cons of different vaccines is non-trivial for both a GP and patient.