Pfizer signs new COVID vaccine deal with U.S.
STORY: The U.S. has agreed to pay $3.2 billion for more of Pfizer and partner BioNTech’s COVID vaccine.
The companies announced a deal for 105 million more doses on Wednesday.
Pfizer said it includes supplies of a retooled vaccine for the Omicron variant, if it gets regulatory clearance.
Advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week recommended changing the design of booster shots for this fall -- an effort to combat variants of the coronavirus that are circulating.
The average price per dose in the new deal is over $30.
That’s a more than 50% increase over what the U.S. paid in its initial contract with Pfizer.
One reason for that: the contract includes vaccines in single-dose vials.
While more expensive to manufacture, single-dose vials can help reduce waste of unused shots.
The U.S. government also has the option to purchase up to 195 million additional doses.
That would bring the total number of potential doses to 300 million, according to Pfizer and BioNTech.
Since first getting authorization in 2020, the U.S. government has distributed close to 450 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine within the U.S.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over 350 million of those doses have been administered.
