The US has secured 200 million additional doses of coronavirus vaccine, President Biden
Joe Biden Former Republican officials in talks to form center-right anti-Trump party: Biden report expresses concern with Xi in first call with Chinese leader as President Castro: Trump further incited crowd ‘against his own vice president’ MORE announced Thursday, completing a pledge promised last month.
Speaking at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Biden said the purchases will increase supply by 50 percent, to 600 million doses.
Biden, who didn’t take off his mask to speak, said the companies are ramping up delivery times, so 100 million doses promised by the end of June will now be delivered by the end of May.
He said the government has collected enough doses of Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech to inoculate every American in late July.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the US paid about $ 2 billion to Pfizer for the additional doses and $ 1.65 billion to Moderna.
The US has now bought enough vaccine doses to inoculate the population twice.
However, the additional doses will not be immediately available, meaning that the existing supply shortages plaguing the rollout are likely to continue, at least in the short term.
Instead, the additional 200 million doses will provide a backstop for when the initial supply runs out.
In his comments Thursday, Biden blamed the former President Trump
Donald Trump Hillary Clinton: Trump Acquittal ‘Will Be As Jury Involves Former Republican Officials Of His Co-conspirators In Talks To Form Center-Right Anti-Trump Party: Gaetz Report Hits Back On Kinzinger PAC Focusing On’ Trumpism ‘ LAKE because they haven’t done enough to plan the rollout of vaccinations.
“My predecessor – to be very blunt about it – was not doing his job to prepare for the daunting challenge of vaccinating hundreds of millions of Americans,” Biden said.
The Trump administration under Operation Warp Speed has obtained 400 million doses, combined from Pfizer and Moderna, but has been criticized for not helping states with the “last mile” of distribution, including taking weapons, which was delegated to the United States. states.
The pace of the immunization started slower than what former Trump officials promised last fall, as states and federal officials argued over who took the blame.
But despite the complaints, states had an average of nearly 900,000 vaccinations a day when Biden took office, and they are now on schedule for nearly 1.5 million a day.
Johnson & Johnson is also expected to provide additional vaccines. The company’s one-time coronavirus vaccine will be reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration later this month.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine only requires one dose, unlike the two-dose vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, which means it is easier to distribute.
It’s also much easier to store; the shot is estimated to remain stable at minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit for two years and will remain stable for at least three months in temperatures of 36 to 46 degrees in most standard refrigerators.
But the initial supply is expected to be limited. The company said it “expects the product to be available for shipment immediately after authorization,” but did not specify how many.
It still expects to deliver on its promise to deliver 100 million doses by mid-year.