Moderna Inc. will keep its COVID-19 vaccines available and free for all people in the U.S. after the public-health emergency ends. The news came as Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, chair of the Senate’s health, education, labor and pensions committee, called on Moderna to testify before Congress on a proposed price increase for the vaccine, which Moderna Chief Executive Stephane Bancel agreed to do. For uninsured or underinsured people, Moderna said it will provide the vaccine at no cost through its patient assistance program. “Everyone in the United States will have access to Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine regardless of their ability to pay,” the company said.
The news comes as the seven-day average of new U.S. COVID cases continues to fall and stood at 37,840 on Wednesday, according to a New York Times tracker. That’s down 9% from two weeks ago. The daily average for hospitalizations was down 11% at 28,360. The average for deaths was 428, down 6% from two weeks ago. The global tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 topped 673.5 million on Wednesday, while the death toll rose above 6.85 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. leads the world with 103 million cases and 1,115,638 fatalities
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