(Reuters) – Pfizer Inc has held on to second doses for each of its COVID-19 vaccinations at the request of the federal government and does not expect to have any problems delivering them to Americans, a spokeswoman said in a statement on Friday.
Pfizer’s comments contradict a report in the Washington Post that the federal government wound down its vaccine reserve in late December and that no remaining doses of doses are available.
“Operation Warp Speed has asked us to send second doses only recently,” said the spokeswoman. “As a result, we have on hand all second doses from the previous shipments to the US.”
The United States Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to requests for comment.
Pfizer has shipped more than 15 million doses to destinations in the United States, primarily from its Michigan plant, and expects to be able to produce approximately 2 billion doses worldwide by 2021, the spokeswoman said.
However, the United States is struggling to administer the shots that have been distributed. According to data from the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, only about 12 million of the more than 31 million doses shipped have been administered.
Scattered vaccine shortages were reported on Friday at the forefront of the US fight against the coronavirus pandemic, causing at least one major healthcare system to cancel a slew of appointments from people hoping to get vaccinated.
Earlier on Friday, Pfizer announced that there would be a temporary impact on shipments to European countries in late January to early February, caused by changes in manufacturing processes to boost production. [L1N2JQ0V3]
About nine of the 27 governments in the European Union complained at a meeting this week about “insufficient” doses, one participant said.
Reporting by Carl O’Donnell; Edited by Leslie Adler and Sonya Hepinstall