Biden: Feds Are Buying 200M More Vaccine Doses

He aims to have 300M people vaccinated by 'end of summer, early fall'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 26, 2021 5:50 PM CST
Biden: Feds Are Buying 200M More Vaccine Doses
Then-President-elect Joe Biden receives his second dose of the coronavirus vaccine at ChristianaCare Christiana Hospital in Newark, Del., Monday, Jan. 11, 2021.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

The buck now stops with President Biden on coronavirus vaccine rollout—and he promised Tuesday to boost the supply and provide "enough vaccine to vaccinate 300 million Americans by end of summer, early fall." Biden said the federal government is planning to buy 200 million more doses of vaccine—100 each from Moderna and Pfizer, bringing the total supply to 600 million, Politico reports. Both vaccines are two-dose regimens. There are currently only around 260 million Americans considered eligible to be vaccinated, but the number could rise depending on the results of Moderna and Pfizer's clinical trials for children as young as 12, reports the Washington Post. Authorities say that despite the extra order, limited manufacturing capacity means that a boost in immediate supply is unlikely before April, per the New York Times.

"This is going to allow millions more Americans to get vaccinated sooner than previously anticipated," said the president, who described the push as a "wartime effort." Biden also announced that there would be a 16% increase in vaccine doses shipped to states over the next three weeks following complaints of major shortages, the AP reports. On taking office, Biden initially pledged to vaccinate 100 million Americans in 100 days, but experts said that pace would have to be doubled for things to return to somewhere near normal by the end of summer. Biden also said Tuesday that state governors will now be informed of vaccine allocations three weeks before delivery. "Until now, we've had to guess how much vaccine" each week, he said. "This is unacceptable. Lives are at stake." (More coronavirus vaccine stories.)

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