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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
Have governments funded a major share of COVID-19 vaccine research and development?
Friday, March 5, 2021
By Gus Fisher
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YES
Billions of dollars of government support for COVID-19 vaccine development has taken several forms.
- Governments have made large direct grants, including support for the makers of two approved mRNA vaccines, Moderna and BioNTech, Pfizer’s German partner.
- The mRNA vaccines derive from U.S. government-supported basic research into coronaviruses dating back to 2003, including an $18 million grant to the University of Pennsylvania for “foundational” research.
- Guaranteed purchases have supported companies taking on the large development risks of developing the vaccines, assuring them of recovering many costs.
Advocacy groups have said the role of public funding argues for wide, global vaccine distribution at low cost. Now the Biden administration is urging other countries to follow its lead in pledging $4 billion to COVAX, a global effort to purchase vaccines for poorer countries.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
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Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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