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Original title: The situation of the epidemic is worrying. The United States government plans to buy another 100 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Source: Financial Associated Press
According to media reports citing sources on Tuesday (December 22) local time, the United States government is close to reaching an agreement with Pfizer to add up to 100 million doses of the new corona vaccine to the latter. The agreement will be announced Wednesday and will help the United States’ ongoing vaccination efforts.
The source said that under the terms under discussion, Pfizer will provide the 100 million doses of the new corona vaccine at a total price of almost 2 billion US dollars, no later than July next year.
The report said that as part of the new negotiations, the US government asked Pfizer to increase its supply of 100 million doses of vaccine from April to June next year. Accordingly, the agreement also requires the government to invoke the Defense Production Act (Defense Production Act) to give Pfizer better access to approximately nine special materials needed to produce vaccines.
Pfizer said in an email statement: “We will continue to work with the US government to get as many Americans as possible to get our COVID-19 vaccine. The company cannot comment on confidential discussions with the US government. USA “.
Last week, Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla said the company is negotiating with the US federal government to provide an additional 100 million doses of the new coronavirus vaccine next year. He also said that the company can provide most of these doses in the third quarter of 2021, but the United States government expects to obtain these doses in the second quarter.
On December 11, Pfizer’s new corona vaccine became the first vaccine cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use, and vaccination work began. As part of Operation Warp Speed, the US government signed a 100 million-dose vaccine supply agreement with Pfizer in July this year, enough to vaccinate 50 million people.
Earlier this month, according to media reports, Pfizer lowered its production forecast and is expected to release 50 million doses of vaccines by the end of this year. This goal is only half of the original 100 million dose plan due to the challenges facing the supply chain.
As the conclusion of the new supply agreement nears, the situation in the United States is worrying. Some experts, including the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and former FDA officials, have issued warnings that the new mutant virus may have entered the United States undetected. This undoubtedly worsens the already serious epidemic in the United States. According to statistics from Johns Hopkins University, the number of confirmed cases in the United States has reached 18.23 million and more than 320,000 Americans have died from the disease.
