US Secures All Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Production for This Year... Plans for Free Vaccinations

Contract Worth $1.95 Billion for 100 Million Doses
Preemptive Purchase Amid Global Vaccine Race

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The United States has agreed to purchase 100 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine being developed by pharmaceutical company Pfizer and German biotech firm BioNTech for $1.95 billion. The competition among countries to secure vaccines is expected to intensify further.

According to CNBC on the 22nd (local time), Alex Azar, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, announced that they have agreed to purchase the Pfizer vaccine once its safety and efficacy are confirmed.

The U.S. government has arranged for immediate delivery of the vaccine if Pfizer's vaccine succeeds in Phase 3 large-scale clinical trials and obtains approval for sale from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

According to the agreement, the U.S. government can additionally request 500 million doses of the vaccine from Pfizer. The U.S. aims to secure enough vaccine doses for 300 million people by January next year.

Considering Pfizer's plan to produce up to 100 million doses by the end of this year and an additional 1.2 billion doses by the end of next year, the U.S. would be securing all production for this year and about half of the production until the end of next year.

CNBC reported that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services plans to provide the vaccine free of charge, but the priority order for vaccination has not yet been determined.

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