Analysts studying the contracts South Africa concluded for the Pfizer vaccine and negotiations with Moderna for the Spikevax vaccine have found many instances of corporate bullying and draconian and one-sided contracts -- but also of South African officials standing up and demanding more transparency, the Health Justice Institute said on Tuesday.

There is considerable evidence of corporate bullying, profiteering and draconian contracts in South Africa's negotiations to procure Covid vaccines during the global public health emergency.

The report is the second in a series of analyses after the Health Justice Institute (HJI) won access in the Pretoria High Court to the procurement documentation for the Covid vaccines.

A summary of the first part of the analysts' findings can be found here.

Some of the aggressive demands in the documents relate to the Moderna vaccine, which South Africa never procured.

The Moderna vaccine's commercial name was Spikevax. It was developed by the US company in conjunction with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.

Moderna took the most aggressive approach to shielding any vaccine supply from public accountability, a statement by the HJI reads.

Analysts explained that according to the documentation received, the company charged an excessive price compared to other countries and had very stringent non-refundability provisions.

It insisted on very broad indemnification clauses; South Africa had to carry the cost of delivering supplies obtained in Europe, and the confidentiality provisions were so extreme that they even barred the discussion of...