The $ 2bn deal will see the extra 100 million doses delivered to the U.S. by July.
The U.S. government will pay nearly $ 2bn to Pfizer Inc for an additional 100 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to support its supply while the country engages in a national spike on disease.
The company will deliver at least 70 million doses by June 30 and the rest no later than July 31, Pfizer said Wednesday, bringing the total number of doses to 200 million for a total price of around $ 4bn.
The new agreement comes amid a jump in U.S. coronavirus infections that added more than a million new cases in just six days, according to a Reuters account.
More than 322,000 Americans have died and at least 18.2 million cases have been reported in the U.S., according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.
BREAKING:
Trump administration, through @HHSGov and @DeptofDefense, will purchase an additional 100 million doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. #OperationWarpSpeed
– Secretary Alex Azar (@SecAzar) 23 December 2020
Pfizer vaccines are already being rolled out across the U.S. after the picture gained an emergency use permit earlier this month.
“This new federal purchase can give Americans more confidence that we will have enough supplies to give the vaccine to every American who wants it by June 2021,” said U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. in a statement.
“Obtaining more doses from Pfizer and BioNTech for delivery in the second quarter of 2021 will expand our dose supply across the Operation Warp Speed package.”
The government also has the option of up to 400 million extra doses of the vaccine.
More than 600,000 Americans received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The first wave of photos so far has gone to health care workers and nursing home residents, as well as some top government officials. It seems that Americans in “non-essential” jobs will have to wait months for the opportunity.