U.S. taxpayers provided substantial funding for the vaccines, in terms of basic infrastructure, OWS itself, and then advance purchase commitment contracts. Health economists provide an overview here.

In terms of the direct costs of purchasing the developed vaccines from manufacturers, estimates indicate that we have paid manufacturers $12 billion for 700 million doses. If delivered prior to expiration and without wastage, this is enough to vaccinate 350 million people.

Thinking only about these direct costs paid to the pharmaceutical firms, compare their revenues against your answer to number 2. What share of the social value was captured by the innovating firms? Report as a percent. If easier, you may instead report as a cost-benefit per vaccinated person who receives two doses. From a societal perspective, again thinking only about this direct spending, were these contracts worthwhile? State the decision rule you used in making this assessment.