Trump administration declined to buy extra Pfizer COVID vaccines when offered more doses: report

According to a new report from the New York Times, Trump administration officials passed when Pfizer offered to sell the U.S. government extra doses of its COVID vaccine this summer. Now, according to the Times' report, additional doses won't be available until next June.

"As the administration scrambles to try to purchase more doses of the vaccine, President Trump plans on Tuesday to sign an executive order 'to ensure that United States government prioritizes getting the vaccine to American citizens before sending it to other nations,' according to a draft statement and a White House official, though it was not immediately clear what force the president’s executive order would carry," the Times reports.

"The vaccine being produced by Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, is a two-dose treatment, meaning that 100 million doses is enough to vaccinate only 50 million Americans. The vaccine is expected to receive authorization for emergency use in the U.S. as soon as this weekend, with another vaccine, developed by Moderna, also likely to be approved for emergency use soon," the newspaper reported. "On Nov. 11 — two days after Pfizer first announced early results indicating that its vaccine was more than 90 percent effective — the European Union announced that it had finalized a supply deal with Pfizer and BioNTech for 200 million doses, a deal they began negotiating in months earlier. Shipments could begin by the end of the year, and the contract includes an option for 100 million more doses."

Read the full report over at The New York Times.