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| A vial and syringe are seen in front of a displayed Pfizer logo in this illustration taken on Jan 11, 2021. (Photo by= Reuters/Dado Ruvic) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] NEW YORK: Pfizer and German partner BioNTech said on Friday (Jul 23) the US government had purchased 200 million additional doses of their COVID-19 vaccine and had the option to buy an updated version of the vaccine targeting new variants of the virus, Reuters reported. The White House later said that the latest order allows for flexibility if booster shots are later needed.
The announcement brings the total number of doses to be supplied to the United States to 500 million, out of which roughly 208 million doses have already been delivered, as of Thursday's data from the government. Pfizer last year signed a deal with the US government for 100 million doses of the vaccine for nearly US$2 billion, with an option to buy 500 million more doses.
A majority of the new doses will be supplied by the end of the year, and the remaining 90 million will be delivered by Apr 30 next year, the companies said. The director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday the seven-day average of new cases in the United States is up 53 percent over the previous week.
