US Government to Invest Billions of Dollars to Resolve Vaccine Polarization

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The Joe Biden administration is investing billions of dollars to expand Baeksan production facilities and produce an additional 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines annually.

On the 17th (local time), the White House announced new support for pharmaceutical companies producing messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines to expand their equipment, production facilities, and hiring.

David Kessler, Chief Science Officer for COVID-19 response at the U.S. Department of Health, stated, "The goal is to begin production in the second half of next year."

The Biden administration plans to partner with more than one pharmaceutical company for this purpose. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) explained, "Pharmaceutical companies collaborating with the White House are expected to be Pfizer, BioNTech, Moderna, and others equipped with mRNA vaccine production capabilities."

The funding will come from the $1.9 trillion (approximately 1,244 trillion KRW) COVID recovery budget package signed by President Biden in March.

The White House explained that this measure also aims to sufficiently expand vaccine procurement capabilities in the event of future pandemics.

This announcement from the White House came amid international pressure for the U.S. to increase vaccine supply to low-income countries. During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. faced much criticism for almost monopolizing mRNA vaccines.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.