Advocates of cheap and widely available vaccines thought the pandemic might change business as usual. They were wrong.

Oxford University surprised and pleased advocates of overhauling the vaccine business in April by promising to donate the rights to its promising coronavirus vaccine to any drugmaker.

A few weeks later, Oxford—urged on by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation—reversed course. It signed an exclusive vaccine deal with AstraZeneca that gave the pharmaceutical giant sole rights and no guarantee of low prices—with the less-publicized potential for Oxford to eventually make millions from the deal and win plenty of prestige

You would think that when the government pays for something, it should be provided to the public for free.

Source: Oxford’s COVID vaccine deal with AstraZeneca raises concerns about access and pricing | Fortune