Biden Administration Says It Will Buy 200 Million More COVID-19 Shots

The Biden administration on Tuesday announced that the federal government intends to purchase 200 million additional doses of two federally approved COVID-19 vaccines, potentially creating a stock large enough to reach nearly the entire U.S. population.

The U.S. has already purchased 400 million shots from manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna, both of which use a novel mRNA vaccine that has proven highly effective in trials but that also requires two doses, spaced weeks apart. With the extra shots that the Biden administration intends to purchase, there would, in theory, be enough to vaccinate 300 million people fully against the coronavirus ― more than enough, according to most experts, to achieve “herd immunity.”

Just how far along discussions with the two manufacturers have gone is not clear. A background briefing paper for reporters said that the administration is “working to purchase” more vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. It did not indicate whether the two companies have the capacity to deliver the extra quantities by the end of the summer, as the administration hopes.

Pfizer, in a statement late Tuesday afternoon, said the company “will do its part to help the Biden Administration make more shots-in-arms a reality.” Moderna declined to comment.