Pfizer is getting a big boost from the United States government to manufacture its two-dose COVID-19 vaccine for distribution around the world.
The Department of Defense on Monday announced that the U.S. Army had awarded Pfizer a $3.5 billion contract to produce 500 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine by the end of 2022 for the purpose of international donation.
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Pfizer said it plans to have 200 million doses ready to deliver starting later in August and continuing through the end of 2021. Another 300 million doses will be delivered between January and June 2022.
As part of the plan, the U.S. will allocate the vaccine doses to 92 low- and middle-income countries, as well as the 55 member states of the African Union.
"Our partnership with the U.S. government will help bring hundreds of millions of doses of our vaccine to the poorest countries around the world as quickly as possible," Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement. "COVID-19 has impacted everyone, everywhere, and to win the battle against this pandemic, we must ensure expedited access to vaccines for all."
The World Health Organization has estimated that 11 billion doses are needed to vaccinate 70% of the world's population and bring the pandemic under control. The short-term target is to have at least 10% of the population of every country vaccinated by September.
The White House announced Tuesday that the U.S. has donated and shipped more than 110 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to more than 60 countries, ranging from Afghanistan to Zambia, in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus abroad.
