You obviously have no idea how much it costs in money and in time to do science. Before the vaccine even gets produced, there are development costs, which are astronomical. You have to pay dozens or hundreds of people (depending on the organization) for months/years of work, and you have to buy supplies which are very expensive. You would be shocked if you looked in a biological supply catalog. I work in an academic lab, and even with the deep discounts we get, we spend over $1M/year on supplies, easy, probably more. Oh, and don't forget animal care costs. You've got to show that the vaccine does SOMETHING and that it is not harmful at least in mice. ANYWAY, I don't want to support drug companies any more than I have to, but they do deserve something for their efforts. They make a profit thanks to government intervention, but thank goodness they do. I like my vaccines!
