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The Trump administration opted last summer not to have the opportunity to buy millions of additional doses of one of the main contenders to the coronavirus vaccine, a decision that could delay the delivery of a second batch of doses until manufacturer Pfizer complies. with other international contracts.
The disclosure, confirmed Monday by people familiar with the matter, came a day before President Trump wanted to take credit for the rapid development of upcoming coronavirus vaccines at a White House summit Tuesday.
Pfizer’s vaccine is expected to be approved by a Food and Drug Administration panel of scientists as early as this week, and 100 million doses, enough for 50 million Americans, are expected to be delivered in the coming months.
Under its contract with Pfizer, the Trump administration promised to buy 100 million initial doses, with the option to buy up to five times more.
This summer, the White House chose not to block an additional 100 million doses for delivery in the second quarter of 2021, according to people who spoke on the matter on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.
Days before the expected vaccine approval, the administration is changing course, but it is unclear that Pfizer, which has since committed to other countries, can fulfill the latest request on the same schedule.
The Pfizer vaccine is one of two that is on track for emergency clearance from the FDA this month, with the other coming from Modern Pharma.
The Trump administration insisted late Monday that between those two vaccines and others in the pipeline, the United States will be able to accommodate any American who wants to get vaccinated by the end of the second quarter of 2021.
The management’s decision not to block additional purchases from Pfizer last summer was first reported by the New York Times. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told NBC that the administration “continues to work among manufacturers to expand the availability of FDA-approved releasable vaccines as quickly as possible. … We still have that option for an additional 500 million doses ”.
Aiming to quell public skepticism about the vaccine and secure a key component of Trump’s legacy, Tuesday’s summit will highlight the administration’s plans to distribute and administer the vaccine. But officials on President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team, which will oversee most of the largest vaccination program in the nation’s history once he takes office Jan. 20, were not invited.
The “Operation Warp Speed” summit will feature the participation of Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and a host of government experts, state leaders and business executives, as the White House seeks to explain that the vaccine is safe and lay out the plans of the administration to bring it to the American people.
Senior administration officials provided details about the summit on Monday. A Biden transition official confirmed that no invitation was extended.
Officials from the pharmaceutical companies that develop the vaccines were also not expected to attend, despite receiving invitations, according to people familiar with the matter. Some expressed concern that the event contributes to the politicization of the vaccine development process and may further inhibit public confidence in the drugs.
Trump is ready to kick off the event with remarks aimed at “celebrating” the development of the vaccine, according to an official who anticipated the event. The president will also sign an executive order to prioritize Americans in federally purchased coronavirus vaccines. A second official said the order would restrict the US government from donating doses to other nations until there is an excess supply to meet domestic demand. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss plans for the summit.
It was not immediately clear what impact, if any, the order would have on other nations’ ability to access vaccines. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday that he expects his country to receive around 250,000 doses of a Pfizer vaccine by the end of the year.
The Food and Drug Administration will meet Thursday to conduct a final review of the Pfizer drug, and will meet later this month on a vaccine developed by Moderna. Both have been found to be 95% effective against the virus that causes COVID-19. The plans call for distributing and then administering about 40 million doses of the two companies’ vaccines by the end of the year, with the first doses to ship within hours of FDA approval.
Biden said Friday that “there is no detailed plan that we have seen” on how to get the vaccines out of containers, into syringes and then into people’s arms.
Trump administration officials insist such plans have been developed, and that most of the work falls to state and municipal governments to ensure their most vulnerable populations are vaccinated first. The administration says it has leveraged partnerships with manufacturers, distributors and healthcare providers, so outside of settings like veterans hospitals, “it is highly unlikely that a single federal employee will touch a dose of vaccine before it enters his arm”.
In total, about 50,000 vaccination sites are listed in the government’s distribution system, officials said.
Each of the upcoming vaccines has unique logistical challenges related to distribution and administration. Pfizer vaccine must be shipped in super cold temperatures and comes in batches of 975 doses. Each vial contains five doses, which require careful planning. The administration has prepared detailed videos for providers on how to prepare and administer doses safely, which will be released after the FDA issues its emergency use authorization.
One such plan will be announced Tuesday: Pharmacy chains CVS and Walgreens have established a “mobile vaccination service” ready to vaccinate people in every nursing home and long-term care facility in the country. The roughly 3 million residents of those facilities are among the most vulnerable to COVID-19 and have been placed at the front of the line to access the vaccine, along with more than 20 million healthcare workers. So far, between 80% and 85% of facilities have joined the service, officials said.
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