Trump administration denies reports of refusing option of extra vaccine doses from Pfizer

The Trump administration may have missed a chance to acquire more COVID-19 vaccine doses reportedly offered by Pfizer earlier this year, which had signed an agreement to provide 100 million doses to the US government with an option to secure up to 500 million additional doses if proven effective. As per a New York Times report, the US government allegedly denied an offer made by Pfizer for additional doses of vaccine, which may result in no more than 100 million doses for America until June. 

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However, a senior official from the Trump administration has dismissed reports that the government turned down an offer from Pfizer. As per the report, a spokesperson from the Department of Health said that the government has five more contracts with other companies, including Moderna, that would fulfill its demand of having enough vaccine doses for the American population. The Trump administration in July signed a $2 billion contract with Pfizer to secure 100 million doses of its vaccine, which is considered to be enough to vaccinate 50 million people. 

Read: US: Feds Passed Up Chance To Lock In More Pfizer Vaccine Doses

Pfizer seeks approval in the US

Pfizer, which has developed a vaccine in partnership with German firm BioNTech and without any help from the US government, has already earned approval in the United Kingdom, where the vaccination drive is expected to begin this week. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is also expected to give emergency use authorisation (EUA) to the Pfizer vaccine in the coming days, which see the federal government receive the first batch before the end of 2020. 

Read: UK Officials To Combine Pfizer And AstraZeneca COVID Shots For Vaccine Trials

The Trump administration set-up a programme named Operation Warp Speed, which allows the government to deploy a mass vaccination drive once a safe and effective vaccine is available. Under the programme, the government has also invested billions of dollars in private companies such as Johnson & Johnson and Moderna for the development of a COVID-19 vaccine. 

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