6 Minutes English - The cost of life-saving vaccines

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Today we are going to talk about the cost of keeping people healthy. The price of life saving vaccine s just  has esclated escalated has going gone up. And some of the world poorester countryies are struggling to immunizse children. To immunizse in other words to prevent children from catching disease.

Yes the organization medicine someFrantancs Sans Frontieres is critizing criticising the pharmaceutical to farm suitable companys to which produce vaccines. Medicine someFrantancs Sans Frontieres is a well-known charity. A charity is a organization set up to help and raise money for people in need.

We are going to talk about the cost of vaccine. And you will learn some words you can use to discuss about the topic yourself or to following the use news. But first there is a question, Neil. The first Laboratory developed the vaccine which was producing at in 1879. The vaccine was against the an animal disease called checking chichen cholera. Who Here was the scientist behind it. What is Was it (a) Alexander-Fleming (b) Albert-Sabing (c) Louis-pass-thrid Pasteur. Well I don't know. But I am going to guess. Probably not a because Fleming discovered Pennsila penicillin. Probably not c because Pasteur did pasteurisation.. I am going to go for b. Yes,it sounds like you know your vaccine. Well, we will have the answer to that question at the end of the programme. Now let's talk about controversy behind these life-saving vaccines. On one side we have a charity, one the other side, the the drug companies.

Which vaccine are we they going to talk talking about. Well, they are let's talk talking about vaccine which prevent diseases such as tuberculosis, measles, diphtheria and polio. According to medicine someFranters  Sans Frontieres between 2001 and 2015 2014 there was 68 fold increase in vaccine prices. Well, that is a lot.

It is currently it is. And the group says there are particular cases in which rich western countries are actually getting vaccines at cheaper rates than poor countries. That was  what medicine someFrontiers Sans Frontieres says. And they are asking for more  transparency around prices.

Transparency means clarity something done it in open way without secrets.

Yes they want to know the cost about the vaccines. Let's hear what Rohit Malpani from medicine somFrontics Sans Frontieres has been saied. to say. See if he can spot the expressions he uses to describes how high the price of the vaccine is for some countries.

This is all black box. Since it is a black box in terms of turns the price of  they are charging to most of the countries around the world, so there they are charging prices that are widely lower for  out of the proportion with their ability to pay the paid. YOu have Morocco and Tunisia continuation without the paid. that are paying higher prices than French for the pneumococcal vaccine, we also simply don't know the cost production and if GlaxoSmithKline says that their the XXX clients said. It cost more than we are saying it does. Then they are sound should simply synetic  submit to some sort of additics audits to ensure that we can verify the cost production.

This expression with which describtion describes their the relationship between the prices asked us and the ability to pay is out of proportion. It means it is unrealistic or exaggerated.

And Malpani from medicine someFrontiers Sans Frontieres says the Morocco and Tunisia are paying more than France with other a much richer countries for a particular vaccine.

And his organization wants more transparency. They wants to be able to verify the cost of production. To verify means to confirm something is really true. They want the drug company to confirm the cost to producinge vaccine is really as high as they saidy it is.

Well, at this point, we have to hear what the company say.

Yes, because they argue that they already sell the vaccine in  at a discount. In other words, they at a reduced the price.

Yes, they do. GlaxoSmithKline says that around 80 percent of all that their vaccines, including that  the one mentioned by Malpani, are provided to developing countries at substantial discount. And the company addeds, the new Mococo pneumococcal vaccine is one of the most complicated  complex they have ever manufactured because it combineds 10 vaccines in one.

Yes, in the on one hand, vaccine takes many years of research and this  those companyies wants to make profit, which means to sell the product for more than the it costs they to make it.

But in on other hand, the lack of  vaccine can kill people. And it is really very sad to see people dying of this diseases which can be prevented. Some vaccines may be very affordable for a person in a rich country.

But they might cost the a fortune to someone in the a poor country.

This is very complex problem. And I am sure we are going to will talk about this again in the future. But now let's go back to the quiz question, Neil.

You asked about the first vaccine developed in the XXXX a laboratory.

Yes I did. The first laboratory-developedXXX vaccine was produced in 1879. It was a vaccine for the animal disease called Chicken cholera. I want to know the name of the scientist who develop it. Was it Alexander Fleming, Albert Sabin, or Louis Pasteur?.

And I said B Albert Sabin.

And you were wrong. The Correct answer is C louis Paster Pasteur who is was a French microbiologist. Now Neil, the option you choose, the netrual american scientist Albert Sabin, in fact, develop an oral vaccine against Poral  polio in 1950, thought still very useful. And Alexander Flaming from Scotland, did indeed discovery Pancellisa penicillin as you said.

Well, that's interesting. And I was a little disappointed that I to get  got it be wrong actually, Harry.