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The federal government is exercising a clause in its contract with Pfizer to purchase an additional 200 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, including for children under 12 if and when the Food and Drug Administration gives the green light and to prepare the possibility of a gunshot recall, according to an administration official familiar with the contract.
“Here’s the bottom line – we’ve always prepared for every scenario,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday, confirming the purchase.
The doses will be delivered between fall 2021 and spring 2022, as President Joe Biden has said the vaccine will likely be available to young children “soon,” and as experts study whether a booster might be needed for people fully vaccinated in the future. As part of the deal, the official said Pfizer would give the United States 65 million pediatric doses if the vaccine is approved for emergency use in children under 12, making the doses available immediately by authorization case.
CNN first reported the purchase of the additional 200 million doses. Mr Biden said the photos would likely be available to young children “soon” at a CNN town hall on Wednesday night.
“Soon, in the sense that I’m not telling any scientist what to do. I’m not intervening,” Biden said, expanding on his response. “So they take the exams now, the tests now and make the decision now.”
For now, when it comes to the boosters, public health officials point to the effectiveness of the current vaccine regimen for those who have been fully vaccinated. Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN earlier this month that, “given the data and information we have, we don’t need to give to people a third injection, a boost “. Still, he said health experts were examining whether a booster might be needed in the future.
The conversation over booster injections comes as the Delta variant rages in the United States, accounting for 83% of all COVID-19 cases. For now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention maintains guidelines published in May – that fully vaccinated people do not need to wear masks in most indoor environments, unlike unvaccinated people.
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