Coronavirus vaccine developers told House members on Tuesday that they plan to dramatically increase deliveries in the coming weeks.
Executives at Pfizer and Moderna, the only two companies to have received emergency vaccine clearance from the US government, said they would be able to deliver more than 130 million additional combined doses by the end of March.
The companies said they were no longer facing shortages of raw materials and largely solved the manufacturing challenges that limited initial production and led to bottlenecks, as demand far exceeded supply.
Combined, the two companies have contracts to supply 600 million doses, which they say will be ready by the end of July. Between each company with which the United States has contracts, both the Trump administration and the Biden administration have provided enough pre-ordered doses to vaccinate the entire American population almost twice.
“Some of the companies here today are still out of the number of doses they promised to initially administer when they testified before this subcommittee in July,” said Rep. Diana DeGette
Diana Louise DeGetteHouse Democrats criticize Texas ‘preparations’ inadequacies over winter storms Democrats say Trump will incite violence again LIVE COVER: Democrats end case against Trump MORE (D-Colo.), Chair of the House Energy and Trade Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee.
DeGette added that “many of the companies received significant federal investment to build their production capacity last year, even though clinical trials were ongoing.”
According to a government accountability office report last monthThe Trump administration’s Warp Speed operation required about $ 13 billion to develop and manufacture vaccines, including funding to increase existing capacity.
John Young, Pfizer’s director of business, told lawmakers that the company has delivered about 40 million doses so far.
But Young said the company is about to make a total of 120 million doses available for shipping by the end of March and another 80 million doses by the end of May.
“Because of the huge need to vaccinate more people, we have accelerated dose production,” he said, noting that the company has invested significantly in domestic production plants.
The investment is necessary because the company will have to increase its deliveries from about 4 million to 5 million doses per week in early February to over 13 million doses per week by mid-March.
Johnson & Johnson, which has not yet received emergency authorization for its vaccine, said it intends to have enough doses for more than 20 million Americans by the end of March.
That vaccine, unlike those from Pfizer and Moderna, requires a single dose, so 20 million doses would completely vaccinate as many people as possible.
Richard Nettles, vice president of U.S. medical affairs for Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Infectious Diseases and Vaccines Unit, said the company will have 4 million doses ready to be shipped immediately if and when the shot is authorized by the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA).
An FDA advisory committee meets Friday to consider the company’s request, and the emergency clearance could come soon.
Johnson & Johnson targets are more optimistic than Biden officials have previously acknowledged. Earlier this month, the response coordinator at the White House COVID-19 Jeff Zients
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At the same time, the Biden administration is increasing its allocation to states.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki
Jen PsakiTanden’s path to confirmation seems increasingly unbearable The American Pacific American Caucus urges senators to confirm Tanden Biden to order half-staff flags to mark 500K virus deaths MORE said Tuesday that states will now receive 14.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines per week, an increase of about 1 million doses per week.
Psaki said the Zients made the announcement in a call with governors Tuesday morning.
However, the administration of vaccines is not the same as their administration. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, just over 65 million doses were administered, while 82 million doses were administered.