Costa Rica on Monday announced it will purchase 2 million additional doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine in order to accelerate its fight against Covid-19.
The doses, enough for 1 million people, will begin to arrive in Costa Rica in July with delivery completed by the end of 2021. They will help the country vaccinate adults (ages 18 to 57) with risk factors.
The Presidency says the shipments could also allow for vaccinating teenagers against Covid-19 or be saved for third doses if they become necessary.
This acquisition adds to the 4 million Pfizer doses that were already purchased by Costa Rica, reaching 6 million doses of that formula. Costa Rica has also bought 1 million AstraZeneca doses and will receive 2 million doses (enough for 20% of the population) through the Covax facility.
In total, Costa Rica now has contracts for 9 million doses of coronavirus vaccines, enough for 4.5 million people. The country has 3.7 million adults (ages 18 and older) and a total population of about 5 million.
The government cited a $12/dose cost for the latest Pfizer purchase, which calculates to $24 million. Costa Rica’s vaccine contracts are as follows:
- Doses purchased through the COVAX mechanism cost an average of $10.55 per dose.
- Doses purchased from AstraZeneca cost of $4 plus transportation, amounting to a maximum of $5 per dose.
- The 5 million doses purchased from Pfizer cost $60 million, including transportation. This calculates to $12 per dose.
