FLC | HHS and DoD purchase 100 million additional doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine

HHS and DoD purchase 100 million additional doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine

December 23, 2020

The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, has collaborated with the Department of Defense (DoD) Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND) and Army Contracting Command - New Jersey to provide Pfizer approximately $4B total for the delivery of 200 million doses of the company's COVID-19 vaccine to government-designated locations across the country.

The agreement, announced on December 23, brings the total doses of Pfizer’s vaccine purchased by the federal government to 200 million.

On Dec. 11, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the vaccine for emergency use and doses began shipping immediately. The vaccine is being provided at no cost to Americans. Vaccine administration costs for private-sector administration partners are covered by healthcare payers: private insurance, Medicare or Medicaid, and HHS’s program to cover COVID-19 costs for the uninsured which is reimbursing the provider at Medicare rates from the provider relief fund.

Under the new agreement, Pfizer will manufacture and deliver up to 100 million doses of its SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, BNT162b2, to government-designated locations. Under the terms of the agreement, Pfizer will deliver at least 70 million doses by June 30, 2021, with the balance of the 100 million doses to be delivered no later than July 31, 2021.

The additional doses are intended to provide for a seamless transition from the first 100 million doses contracted earlier this year, as part of the U.S. government’s overall strategy to ensure continued availability of safe and effective SARS-CoV-2 vaccines to Americans. This strategy began in spring 2020 with Operation Warp Speed (OWS) planning and has been consistent in all initial OWS contracts and agreements with industry partners supporting large scale manufacturing of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines.

The new agreement also includes options for an additional 400 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine. As part of ongoing coordination, the government and Pfizer are also continuing to discuss potential approaches to further strengthen our partnership and safely expand output and accelerate production.

“Securing more doses from Pfizer for delivery in the second quarter of 2021 further expands our supply of doses across the Operation Warp Speed portfolio,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. “This new federal purchase can give Americans even more confidence that we will have enough supply to vaccinate every American who wants it by June 2021.”

Pfizer began manufacturing the first 100 million doses while clinical trials were underway. Manufacturing in parallel with clinical trials expedited the traditional vaccine development timeline and built toward the U.S. government’s Operation Warp Speed goal to begin delivering safe and effective vaccines to the American people by the end of the year.