(Reuters) – Updated COVID-19 shots expected to enter the market this fall should be priced at a reasonable rate, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said on Thursday, in a letter addressed to COVID vaccine manufacturers.
HHS also said the price of the vaccines should be “reflective of the value” that manufacturers have obtained through U.S. government investment.
COVID vaccine makers Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and Novavax are developing versions of their respective vaccines targeting the currently circulating XBB.1.5 subvariant for this fall.
HHS advised that manufacturers should plan regulatory submissions to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for their respective updated shots, which would allow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to make recommendations for the shots by late September.
(Reporting by Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
