On Wednesday (December 23) pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced the federal government placed an order for an additional 100 million doses of their coronavirus vaccine.
The agreement calls for a total of 200 million doses to be supplied by Pfizer and BioNTech to the US. Deliveries of all of the doses are expected to be fulfilled by the end of July 2021.
“With these 100 million additional doses, the United States will be able to protect more individuals and hopefully end this devastating pandemic more quickly,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing our work with the US government and healthcare providers around the country.”
The agreement also gives the US an option to purchase up to 400 million more doses.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said, “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,” he added.
According to a report by The Hill, the agreement possibly includes using the Defense Production Act which allows the executive branch to tell private companies to make products in a time of war or national crisis. The Act gets rid of red tape that would ordinarily slow down Pfizer’s ability to get the raw materials needed to produce the vaccine.
If Pfizer can get the materials, they’ll be able to make an additional 70 million doses, though the company wouldn’t confirm any ongoing negotiations with the government.
The Associated Press reported that Operation Warp Speed is on track to get 40 million Americans vaccinated by the end of December.
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