President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that his administration is working with coronavirus vaccine makers to buy another 200 million doses that would arrive this summer -- raising the total to 600 million and ensuring the U.S. will eventually have two shots of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for nearly every American.
Biden also said the federal government will be increasing the number of doses shipped to states -- from 8.6 million doses a week to 10 million a week for the next three weeks, and will start notifying states how many doses they will receive three weeks in advance."We will both increase the supply in the short term by more than 15%, and give our states and local partners more certainty about when the deliveries will arrive. These two steps are going to help increase our prospects of hitting or exceeding -- God willing -- the ambitious goal of 100 million shots in 100 days," Biden said in remarks at the White House on Tuesday.MORE: Vaccinating America is easier said than done: 5 things to know about Biden's planThe announcement does not resolve the major shortages that the nation is experiencing now and does not suggest the Biden administration has found a novel way to ramp up production quickly.Mario Tama/Getty ImagesA pharmacy technician prepares a dose of the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine to be administered to a patient at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center amid a surge of coronavirus patients on Jan. 21, 2021, in Torrance, Calif.But Biden said that "God willing" it will allow millions more people to be vaccinated earlier than anticipated, cautioning that the "brutal truth" is it will still take months to get through the majority of the population."This is going to allow millions of more Americans to get vaccinated sooner than previously anticipated. We've got a long way to go, though," he said.The slight uptick to 10 million in the next three weeks had been expected, as vaccine makers slowly expand supply, and the U.S. government already had the option to buy more doses under existing contracts.Under President Donald Trump, the U.S. government had already agreed to buy 200 million doses from Pfizer and 200 million from Moderna, which were delivered by July.Paul Sancya/Pool/Reuters, FILEBoxes containing the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine are prepared to be shipped at the McKesson distribution center in Olive Branch, Miss., Dec. 20, 2020.Because each vaccine requires two shots, those 400 million doses already purchased from Pfizer and Moderna would be enough to vaccinate about 200 million U.S. adults. But tens of millions more people will need to be immunized to reach "herd immunity."Biden emphasized that the U.S. now expects 600 million doses of the two vaccines, enough for 300 million Americans to be fully vaccinated with both doses.The FDA has not signed off on giving either of the available COVID-19 vaccines to children until the companies complete more research. The Pfizer vaccine is authorized in people as young as 16, whereas the Moderna vaccine is authorized for people over 18 years old.A senior administration official did not provide a firm timetable on the 200 million extra doses, but hailed the move as a guarantee that every American who wants a shot can get one.Editor's PicksStates trying to ramp up vaccinations frustrated by shortagesGovernors angrily accuse Trump administration of misleading states on vaccine supplyLA County Fire Department COVID cases dramatically decrease after 75% get vaccinatedSource : abcnews.go.com