InfoSearched
Published -
- July 22, 2020
- 6:36 pm
Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, secured a nearly $2 billion order from the U.S. government for 100 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine that doesn’t yet exist.
Under the agreement, the U.S. can acquire up to 500 million additional doses.
What challenges have been raised in distributing the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in the United States?
The United States government has announced that it will be paying pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and BioNTech approximately $2 billion for doses of their COVID-19 vaccine. This news comes as the country continues to face the ongoing pandemic, with case numbers rising steadily across the nation.
The U.S. government has previously entered into agreements with several companies to purchase vaccines, including Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. However, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been one of the most highly sought after due to its high efficacy rate, with clinical trials showing an effectiveness of around 95%.
This latest agreement will see the government pay $1.95 billion for 100 million doses of the vaccine. An additional agreement was also reached for the government to have the option to purchase an additional 500 million doses in the future.
In a statement, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar explained that the purchase was part of the government’s efforts to ensure that Americans have access to safe and effective vaccines as soon as possible.
“We are assembling a broad portfolio of vaccines to increase the odds that we will have at least one safe, effective vaccine as soon as the end of this year,” Azar said.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been approved for emergency use in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). While the vaccine has been shown to be highly effective, some concerns have been raised over its distribution and storage.
The vaccine must be stored at extremely low temperatures, which has led to logistical challenges in getting it to distribution sites across the country. However, the government has been working with states to address these issues and ensure that the vaccine can be distributed as quickly and efficiently as possible.
The purchase of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine marks another step forward in the fight against COVID-19 in the United States. As the country continues to battle the pandemic, efforts to secure and distribute effective vaccines will be critical in bringing an end to the crisis.
