President Biden announces purchase of additional 200 million doses of coronavirus vaccine

An increase in coronavirus vaccine supply is on the way

News 12 Staff

Jan 27, 2021, 1:49 PM

Updated 1,410 days ago

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An increase in coronavirus vaccine supply is on the way.
President Joe Biden says the cancellations of thousands of appointments because of a vaccine shortage is unacceptable.
The president says they plan to increase the weekly amount of total doses sent to different states from 8.6 million to 10 million in order to reach his goal of delivering 100 million vaccinations in 100 days.
He says they will soon be able to confirm the purchase of an extra 100 million doses each of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
“We expected these additional 200 million doses to be delivered this summer,” Biden says. “And that increases the total vaccine order in the United States by 50% from 400 million to 600 million. This is enough vaccine to fully vaccinate 300 million Americans by the end of the summer, beginning of the fall.”
Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the increase isn’t enough but it’s a step in the right direction.
“That’s competence and that’s responsibility,” Cuomo says. “Because you have this week-to-week chaos that’s been going on in the federal government where they said everyone was eligible, but there’s no supply. You have this almost public panic. Now the states will know what they’re getting every week….and we’re getting about 16% to 17% more.”
A new vaccine from Johnson and Johnson could also be available if approved by federal regulators.
The company is expected to seek emergency authorization in the coming weeks.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has said the new vaccine would be very helpful because it’s a single-dose shot, and that takes away some of the challenges when it comes to supply.
Biden says the best protection against the coronavirus before getting the vaccine is wearing a mask.