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- Pfizer will complete the purchase of 200 million vaccines from the country two months ahead of schedule.
- CEO Albert Bourla said the United States will receive 120 million doses in the first quarter, 20 million more than originally promised.
- The FDA changed the labels on Pfizer bottles to recognize that they contain six doses, not five.
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Pfizer will supply the United States with 200 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine two months ahead of schedule, according to the company’s chief executive.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said the United States, which purchased 200 million initial doses of vaccine from the company last year, will receive the shipment two months ahead of schedule, after the FDA changed the labels to account for “extra doses. “in the bottles.
Bourla, speaking at Bloomberg’s virtual Year Ahead Summit on January 26, said Pfizer will supply the United States with 120 million doses in the first quarter, 20 million more than originally promised.
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Shortly after the Food and Drug Administration allowed emergency use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, American pharmacists reported squeezing six or seven doses of vials that were supposed to contain only five.
Pfizer pressured the FDA to change the wording on vaccine labels to recognize that the vials contained six doses, not five, The New York Times reported. The move allows Pfizer to ship fewer bottles to the U.S., prompting Pfizer to deliver on promised shipments ahead of schedule.
The Trump administration rejected Pfizer’s offer to buy additional doses last summer, which means the pharmaceutical company will fulfill its obligations to other countries before the U.S. can take more injections.
As US COVID-19 cases reached record highs this winter, the Trump administration failed to pledge to inoculate 20 million Americans by 2021. Hilary Brueck, the insider, reported that most states spoiled the launch of the COVID-19 vaccine by creating a mix of policies that confused many residents about how and when to get vaccines.
The pace of vaccine release has increased slightly after states began inoculating elderly residents. Just over 3 million Americans have received the complete two-dose vaccine, according to the CDC.
COVID-19 hospitalizations have started to decline, but health officials are warning Americans to be wary of new, more contagious variants of the coronavirus identified in some states.