United States of America orders 100 million more Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine doses, aiming for all americans to get vaccinated by June 2021.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar said that all Americans may have access to a COVID vaccine by June,, after logistical challenges raised concerns about widespread distribution.
Azar said on Wednesday that the HHS planned to purchase 100 million additional doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which began to be distributed to health care workers last week.
The buying of more vaccine news came weeks after reports revealed that the Trump Administration declined to secure additional doses when it had the chance, raising concerns that there could be a delay in the delivery of a second batch.
With the new order, the HHS said there would be a “seamless transition” from the first 100 million doses that were proactively purchased in July. The initial order was made before the vaccine proved safe and effective in Phase III clinical trials but helped shave months off the timeline of it being administered to people, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).