Pfizer, US govt agree on deal for massive increase of available vaccine doses

The United States’ government on Wednesday said it has reached a deal with Pfizer to buy an additional 100 million doses of the company’s COVID-19… Read More »

The United States’ government on Wednesday said it has reached a deal with Pfizer to buy an additional 100 million doses of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the US pharmaceutical company is to deliver 70 million doses by June 30, 2021, and complete the rest of the order by the end of the following month.

“Securing more doses from Pfizer and BioNTech for delivery in the second quarter of 2021 further expands our supply of doses across the Operation Warp Speed portfolio. This new federal purchase can give Americans even more confidence that we will have enough supply to vaccinate every American who wants it by June 2021”, HHS secretary Alex Azar said in a statement.

Pfizer said the government has agreed to pay $1.95 billion for the additional doses of its vaccine.

The US Food and Drug Administration has already authorized the use of a second COVID-19 vaccine, by the US biotechnology company Moderna.

Together, the two companies have committed to supply 400 million doses, or enough to immunize 200 million people. The US population is about 330 million.