The US expects enough for almost every American to receive both doses.
President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that his government is working with coronavirus vaccine manufacturers to purchase an additional 200 million doses that would arrive this summer – bringing the total to 600 million and the US eventually getting two shots of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. have for almost every American.
Biden also said the federal government will increase the number of doses sent to the states – from 8.6 million doses per week to 10 million doses per week over the next three weeks, and that the federal government will begin reporting of the states how many doses they will receive three weeks in advance. .
“We will both increase supply by more than 15% in the short term, and give our states and local partners more certainty about when deliveries will arrive. These two steps will help increase our prospects to – hit or exceed God. – the ambitious target of 100 million shots in 100 days, ”Biden said in comments to the White House on Tuesday.
The announcement does not solve the major shortages the nation is currently experiencing and does not suggest that the Biden government has found a new way to quickly ramp up production.
But Biden said that “God willing” will get millions of people vaccinated sooner than expected, and warned the “brutal truth” is that it will take months to get through the majority of the population.
“This will allow millions of Americans to be vaccinated earlier than previously expected. We still have a long way to go,” he said.
The slight increase to 10 million over the next three weeks was expected as vaccine makers slowly expand the offering and the US government already had the option to purchase more doses under existing contracts.
Under President Donald Trump, the US administration had already agreed to purchase 200 million doses of Pfizer and 200 million doses of Moderna, which were delivered by July.
Because each vaccine requires two injections, those 400 million doses already purchased from Pfizer and Moderna would be enough to vaccinate about 200 million American adults. But tens of millions more will have to be immunized to achieve “herd immunity.”
Biden stressed that the US now expects 600 million doses of the two vaccines, enough to get 300 million Americans fully vaccinated with both doses.
The FDA has not approved any of the available COVID-19 vaccines to be given to children until the companies complete more studies. The Pfizer vaccine is allowed in people over the age of 16, while the Moderna vaccine is allowed for people over the age of 18.
A senior government official did not provide a set timetable for the additional 200 million doses, but hailed the move as a guarantee that any American who wants an injection can get one.
The official said using the Defense Production Act to boost supply remains an option. Examples include specialist syringes and raw materials, although vaccine manufacturers said there was little that could be done in the short term to ramp up supply quickly because of its highly technical nature.
“We will do everything we can to increase the supply and speed up the delivery of the vaccine,” the official said.
And at a time that showed significant contrast to its predecessor, Biden also said masks are the best way to defend against the virus in the coming months, saying that not wearing a mask is “not very American.”
“In the coming months, masks – not vaccines – are the best defense against COVID-19. Experts say wearing masks through April would save 50,000 lives that would otherwise die if we don’t wear these masks. people to mask the first 100 days, ”he said.
He added “the fact is that you want to be patriotic, you are going to protect people.”