Pfizer Nears a Deal with U.S. Government for an Additional 100 Million Coronavirus Vaccine Doses

According to CNBC’s Meg Tirrell, Pharmaceutical giant and the U.S. government are close to a deal where the former would provide an additional 100 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine.

Tirrell cited sources who told her the information about the deal, which could be announced as early as Wednesday.

The New York Times was the first to break the news.

Pfizer declined to comment and said the company “is not able to comment on any confidential discussions that may be taking place with the U.S. government.”

It was last week that Pfizer’s CEO Dr. Albert Bourla said to CNBC that the company was negotiating with the federal government to provide an additional 100 million Covid-19 vaccine doses in 2021.

At the time Bourla told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that the two are working out details and the company could provide many of those doses in the third quarter of 2021. Bourla had said that the U.S. government is pushing for it in the second quarter.

“We are working very collaboratively to try to find a solution and be able to allocate those 100 million [doses] in the second quarter if possible or a lot of them,” Bourla said. He noted that the company had not signed an agreement with the U.S. yet.
Pfizer, which had not accepted any federal funding to help develop or manufacture its vaccine, already has a deal with the U.S. government to supply 100 million doses of the vaccine as part of Operation Warp Speed.

This is enough inoculate 50 million people and under the agreement, Americans will receive the vaccine for free.

The U.S. has shipped 2.9 million doses of the vaccine last week and plans to send out 2 million doses of that vaccine this week, according to Army Gen. Gustave Perna, who is in charge of logistics for Operation Warp Speed.

The U.S. government had said not long ago that Pfizer has kept federal officials at “arm’s length” throughout the manufacturing process of its vaccine.

“They are part of Operation Warp Speed, but … it’s a different relationship” from the government’s deals with Moderna and other pharmaceutical companies that took federal funding, said Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to CNBC’s “Squawk Box” this week.

“We contract, give [Pfizer] a guaranteed purchase, that allows them to make capital investments, have a predictable purchaser, but we don’t have complete visibility into their manufacturing because they have kept that a bit more arm’s length.”

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.