WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th July, 2021) The US government will be purchasing an additional 200 million COVID vaccine doses from Pfizer in order to meet future needs such as booster shots and the vaccination of children, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said at a press conference on Friday.
"The Federal government is exercising an option in its contract with Pfizer to purchase these 200 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to be delivered between the fall of 2021 and the spring of 2022 to prepare for future vaccination needs, including vaccines for children under 12 and possible booster shots if studies show they are necessary," Psaki said in response to a question about the veracity of the purchase.
Psaki added that it is the job of the federal government to be prepared and flexible for future needs, and that they are purchasing the extra doses to ensure for any future contingencies. She said that they are unable to predict when or if the vaccine will be approved for children under 12, or if booster shots will be necessary.
Pfizer and BioNTech have now contracted to provide the US government with 500 million total doses of their vaccine. The companies also said in a statement on Friday that they plan on donating another 500 million doses for the US to distribute to poorer nations.
Receiving two doses of the Pfizer vaccine has shown to be 88% effective against the emerging delta variant of COVID in comparison to a 67% effectiveness of its AstraZeneca counterpart, according to a study published by the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday.
