US signs contract with Pfizer for COVID-19 vaccine doses

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced Wednesday that the U.S. has signed a contract with Pfizer for delivery in December of the first 100 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine the pharmaceutical company is working to develop. The U.S. could buy another 500 million doses under the agreement, Azar said. “Now those would, of course, have to be safe and effective” and be approved by the Food and Drug Administration, Azar said during an appearance on Fox News.

Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE announced separately that the agreement is with HHS and the Defense Department for a vaccine candidate the companies are developing jointly. The agreement is part of President Donald Trump’s Operation Warp Speed vaccine program, under which multiple COVID-19 vaccines are being developed simultaneously. The program aims to deliver 300 million doses of a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine by January 2021, according to HHS.

Under the initiative, the government will speed development and buy vaccines — before they are deemed safe and effective — so that the medication can be in hand and quickly distributed once the FDA approves or authorizes its emergency use. Pfizer and BioNTech said the U.S. will pay $1.95 billion upon receipt of the first 100 million doses, following FDA authorization or approval.

Azar said the contract with Pfizer and BioNTech brings to five the number of potential coronavirus vaccines that are under development.

Read more: https://apnews.com/784232fb2a8d35046c3b33143d0db207

[louzke9]

1. WE are buying something....

with tax dollars we have no proof that will work? What if it won't. Do we get our money back? I see big campaign donations to Trump from Pfizer!

[BumRushDaShow]

5. Technically when they do these contracts

they do them as what the "full value" will be upon delivery of what was set forth in the contract (sometimes to take place over multiple years), and the companies will bill the government against what is set aside for the contract. The government isn't "fronting" them any money.

[Botany]

2. Donald Trump's Operation Warp Speed; Has this vaccine even been tested yet in clinical trials?

Azar said. “Now those would, of course, have to be safe and effective” and be approved by
the Food and Drug Administration, Azar said during an appearance on Fox News.

[shockey80]

3. I will not take it.

I will not take any vaccine while Trump is president.

[Botany]

6. If Dr. Fauci supports it I would use it but Fauci would have given it a real clinical trials first.

No way a vaccine even if it good could be tested by Dec. 2020 or Jan. 2021

Alex Azar is a freaking lobbyist for pharmaceutical companies.

[Calista241]

8. The preliminary trials have been overwhelmingly positive, but limited in distribution

An expanded trial starting here in July is going to have 30,000 participants, both here in the US and in Germany. Competing vaccines have been approved for similar trials by Moderna and Astrazenica.

From my layman's understanding, they're pretty sure the vaccine will work, but they are are trying to figure out dosage requirements for different test subjects.

[durablend]

4. Brilliant plan!

He can claim "the vaccine is almost here--the virus is over!" right before the election and if he loses and it doesn't work you can bet they'll be blaming Biden for it.

[underpants]

7. Raw materials for administering and distribution is a whole other story

By that I mean vials, syringes, and refrigerated trucks, etc.

A person I know in the trucking industry has told me that they have heard discussion about this but the capacity simply doesn’t exist right now.

There also needs to be discussions amongst countries and pharma. Once an effective vaccine is developed we WE need to be sure production can be ramped up quickly.