Trump signs decree: vaccines are the first in the United States

Washington: US President Donald Trump signed a decree Tuesday that gives the United States priority in receiving vaccines before exporting them, noting that the country may lack adequate doses after the first phase of vaccination.

He explained that the decree stipulates that “the US government gives priority to vaccinating US citizens before shipping vaccines to other countries,” noting that the Pfizer / Bionic Alliance, which is expected to obtain a license for a vaccine in the coming days, announced that the number of doses to be delivered in the United States will not exceed one hundred. Million.

In turn, the American company Moderna, whose vaccine could be licensed by the end of next week, promised 100 million doses. Each contract offers options for additional doses, but the time limit to enforce these terms could delay the delivery process for months.

The United States has a population of 330 million and the government has confirmed that it can achieve its goal of ensuring vaccines for all of them by next April.

The two companies mentioned have factories in the United States and Europe. Laws exist that theoretically allow the United States government to obtain production from these factories in advance, such as the “Defense Production Act.”

The decree Trump signed in front of reporters Tuesday at the White House after a meeting that discussed vaccines was not immediately released.

“If necessary, we will go to the ‘Defense Production Act.’ We don’t think it’s necessary,” Trump said.

There are two vaccines that have achieved very positive results in clinical trials that could be licensed early next year to ensure that the United States gets sufficient quantities: a two-dose vaccine for AstraZeneca / Oxford, of which Washington previously ordered 500 million. doses, and a single-dose vaccine for Johnson & Johnson is waiting in the United States. To get a hundred million doses.

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