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 receive emergency vaccine permits from the U.S. government so far, said they could deliver more than 130 million additional doses together by the end of March.
The companies said they are no longer facing raw material shortages and have largely resolved the manufacturing challenges that limited initial production and created bottlenecks as demand far outstripped supply.
Combined, the two companies have contracts to provide 600 million doses, which they say will be ready by the end of July. Between every company with which the US has contracts, both the Trump and Biden administrations have secured enough pre-ordered doses to vaccinate the entire US population almost twice.
“Some of the companies here today are still short of the number of doses they initially promised to deliver when they testified before this subcommittee in July,” said Rep. Diana DeGette
Diana Louise DeGetteHouse Democrats Criticize Texas’s ‘Shortcomings in Preparations’ for Winter Storms Democrats Claim Trump Will Incite Violence Again LIVE COVERAGE: Democrats Close Case Against Trump MORE (D-Colo.), Chairwoman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Supervision and Investigations.
DeGette added that “many of the companies received significant federal investment last year to build their manufacturing capabilities, even while clinical trials were ongoing.”
According to a Government Accountability Office report last monthThe Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed had mandated about $ 13 billion for vaccine development and production, including funding to increase existing capacity.
John Young, Pfizer’s chief business officer, told lawmakers that the company has shipped approximately 40 million doses to date.
But Young said the company is on track 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.
“Due to the urgent need to vaccinate more people, we have stepped up production of doses,” he said, noting that the company has invested significantly in domestic manufacturing sites.
The investment is needed as the company needs to increase its deliveries from approximately 4 million to 5 million doses per week in early February to more than 13 million doses per week by mid-March.
Johnson & Johnson, which has not yet received an emergency permit for its vaccine, said it plans to have enough doses for more than 20 million Americans by the end of March.
That vaccine, unlike those from Pfizer and Moderna, only needs one dose, so 20 million doses would completely vaccinate as many people.
Richard Nettles, vice president of U.S. medical affairs at Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen infectious diseases and vaccines division, said the company will have 4 million doses ready to ship immediately if and when the shot is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
An FDA advisory committee will meet on Friday to consider the company’s filing, and an emergency authorization may come soon after.
Johnson & Johnson’s goals are more optimistic than Biden officials have previously acknowledged. Earlier this month, COVID-19 from the White House replied Jeff Zients
Jeff ZientsThe Hill’s Morning Report – Biden on COVID-19: Next Year, Americans Will Be ‘Better Off’ From Nighttime Health Care: CDC Study Says Double Masking Works | House Democrats Propose Billion Dollar COVID-19 Aid Package | Industry Groups Support ObamaCare Reforms Proposed By Democrats The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented By TikTok – Day 1 Goes To Dems As GOP Fumes At Trump Lawyers MORE said the US expected to receive only a “few million” doses of Johnson & Johnson when it is initially released for use.
At the same time, the Biden government is also increasing its allocation to states.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki
Jen PsakiTanden’s path to confirmation looks increasingly unsustainable Asian Pacific American Caucus Urges Senators to Confirm Tanden Biden to Order Flags for Half Staff to Mark 500,000 Virus Deaths MORE said Tuesday that states will now receive 14.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines per week, an increase from about 1 million doses per week.
Psaki said Zients made the announcement Tuesday morning during a phone call with governors.
Yet delivering vaccines is not the same as administering them. According to data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, just over 65 million doses have been delivered, while 82 million doses have been delivered.