The feds are paying $18 for each COVID-19 vaccine given to Canadians – with the head of a Calgary drug manufacturer company admitting they are making a nice profit, says Blacklock’s Reporter..Brad Sorenson, CEO of Providence Therapeutics, told the Commons finance committee his company negotiated an $18 per dose price in a February 11 contract with the government of Manitoba..Providence’s vaccine is currently undergoing clinical trials..“Our term sheet we have with the Manitoba government and what was proposed across the board in Canada was $18 Canadian a dose,” said Sorenson..“I’m not ashamed to say that Providence is making a fairly reasonable profit at that price. If there was an opportunity to do something and improve on that pricing, we certainly would look at it.”.Public Works Minister Anita Anand to date has refused to disclose prices paid for vaccines purchased from eight foreign manufacturers..However Anand’s department said it has contracted for delivery of up to 404 million doses at “about $8 billion,” the equivalent of $20 per dose..“In terms of the individual prices per unit, we are working with the companies in terms of what they are comfortable disclosing but at the current time those negotiations are ongoing,” Anand testified at the Commons government operations committee..“I want to be clear that I respect and believe strongly in accountability and transparency and at the same time, I want to make sure our relationships with our vaccine suppliers are not undermined.”.“What is your strategy for price fluctuation?” asked New Democrat MP Matthew Green (Hamilton Centre, Ont.)..“Are our contracts locked in at the originally negotiated price?”.“Those prices that we had in our original contracts are the ones that applied to our procurements,” replied Anand..“When will the department divulge the costs per unit for the vaccine contracts?” asked Green..“The total envelope of funds for vaccines is about $8 billion,” replied Anand..“We all need vaccines, and if we were to disclose these contracts we would risk receiving those vaccines because we would be in potential breach of contract..“There are a number of clauses that we as a Government of Canada, as one of two contracting parties, need to respect as a matter of law and, more importantly perhaps is that we don’t want to put our vaccine procurement at risk..“We all need vaccines, and if we were to disclose these contracts we would risk receiving those vaccines because we would be in potential breach of contract.”.Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.,dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com,.Twitter.com/nobby7694
