The United States has provided another 200 million doses of coronavirus vaccine, President Biden
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Speaking at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Biden said the acquisitions will increase supply by 50% to 600 million doses.
Biden, who did not take off his mask to speak, said companies are stepping up delivery times so that the promised 100 million doses by the end of June will now be delivered by the end of May.
He said the administration provided enough doses from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech to inoculate every American by the end of July.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the United States paid about $ 2 billion to Pfizer for additional doses and $ 1.65 billion to Moderna.
The US has previously purchased enough doses of vaccine to inoculate the population twice.
However, additional doses will not be available immediately, which means that the existing shortage of supply affecting the launch is likely to continue, at least in the short term.
Instead, the additional 200 million doses will provide a stop when the initial consumption is depleted.
In his remarks on Thursday, Biden blamed the former President Trump
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“My predecessor – to be very clear on this – has not done his job in preparing for the massive challenge of vaccinating hundreds of millions of Americans,” Biden said.
The Trump administration in Operation Warp Speed secured 400 million combined doses from Pfizer and Moderna, but was criticized for not helping states with the “last mile” of distribution, including gunfire, which was delegated to the states.
The pace of immunization began at a slower pace than former Trump officials promised last fall, as states and federal officials quarreled over who was to blame.
But despite complaints, states had an average of nearly 900,000 vaccinations a day when Biden took office and are now at a rate of nearly 1.5 million a day.
The additional supply of the vaccine is also expected to come from Johnson & Johnson. The company’s single-shot vaccine against coronavirus will be reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration later this month.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires a single dose, unlike the two-dose vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, which means it will be easier to distribute.
It is also much easier to store; the shot is expected to remain stable for two years at minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit and will remain stable for at least three months in most standard refrigerators at temperatures of 36 to 46 degrees.
But the initial offer is expected to be limited. The company said it “expects to have the product available for shipment immediately after authorization,” but did not specify how much.
It is still expected to meet its commitment to deliver 100 million doses by mid-year.