Coronavirus vaccine developers told House members Tuesday that they plan to dramatically increase deliveries in the coming weeks.
Managers of Pfizer and Moderna, the only two companies that have so far received emergency permits from the US government, said they would be able to deliver more than 130 million additional doses by the end of March.
The companies said they no longer have raw material shortages, and that they have largely solved the manufacturing challenges that limited initial production and resulted in bottlenecks, as demand far exceeded supply.
Together, the two companies have contracts to offer 600 million doses, which they say will be ready by the end of July. Between each company with which the U.S. has contracts, the Trump and Biden administrations have obtained enough predetermined doses to vaccinate the entire U.S. population nearly twice.
“Some of the companies that are here today do not yet lack the amount of doses they initially promised to deliver when they testified before this subcommittee in July,” Rep. Diana DeGette
Diana Louise DeGetteHouse Democrats criticize Texas’ ‘shortcomings in preparations’ for winter storms Democrats argue Trump will incite violence again LIVE COVERAGE: Democrats close case against Trump MORE (D-Colo.), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on oversight and investigations.
DeGette added that “many of the companies received significant federal investment last year to build their production capacity, even though there were clinical trials.
According to an office of state liability reported last month, the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed has committed about $ 13 billion for vaccine development and manufacturing, including funding to increase existing capacity.
John Young, Pfizer’s chief operating officer, told lawmakers the company has shipped about 40 million doses so far.
Young said the company is on track to make a total of 120 million doses available by the end of March, and another 80 million doses by the end of May.
“Because of the urgent need to vaccinate more people, we have increased the production of doses,” he said, noting that the company has invested significantly in local manufacturing works.
The investment is necessary because the company must increase its deliveries from around 4 million to 5 million doses per week to more than 13 million doses per week by mid-March.
Johnson & Johnson, which has not yet received emergency approval for the vaccine, said they plan to have enough doses for more than 20 million Americans by the end of March.
The vaccine, unlike those of Pfizer and Moderna, requires only one dose, so 20 million doses will vaccinate as many people as possible.
Richard Nettles, vice president of U.S. medical affairs for the Janssen Infectious Diseases and Vaccines Unit at Johnson & Johnson, said the company would have 4 million doses ready to ship immediately if approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
An FDA advisory committee is meeting Friday to consider the company’s application, and emergency approval could take place soon.
The Johnson & Johnson targets are more optimistic than Biden officials have previously acknowledged. Earlier this month, the COVID-19 Response Coordinator of the White House Jeff Zients
Jeff Zients The Hill’s Morning Report – Bidding on COVID-19: Next Year, Americans Will Be ‘Better Off’ Overnight Health Care: CDC Study Says Double Masking Works | House Democrats propose $ 1 million COVID-19 aid package | Industry groups support ObamaCare reforms proposed by Democrats The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by TikTok – Day 1 goes to Dems while GOP smokes more Trump lawyers. said the U.S. is expected to receive only a few million doses of Johnson & Johnson when initially cleaned for use.
At the same time, the Biden administration is also increasing its allocation to states.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki
Jen Psaki Teeth’s path to confirmation seems increasingly unsustainable Asian Pacific US Caucus urges senators confirm that Teeth Biden must order flags to half staff to mark 500,000 virus deaths said Tuesday that states will now receive 14.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines per week, an increase of about 1 million doses per week.
Psaki said Zients made the announcement Tuesday morning during a call with governors.
However, receiving vaccines is not the same as administering them. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, just over 65 million doses were administered, while 82 million doses were administered.