By ZEKE MILLER, Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Biden’s management said Friday it has reached an agreement with Moderna to acquire 66 million doses of the company’s next-generation COVID-19 vaccine that targets the highly transmissible variant of omicron, a sufficient source this winter for those who need the improved booster. .
The order for the bivalent vaccine follows last month’s announcement that the federal government had received 105 million doses of a vaccine from rival drugmaker Pfizer.
Both orders are expected to be delivered in the fall and winter, assuming regulators approve their effectiveness. The Pentagon said the Moderna contract is worth $1. 74 billion.
The omicron strain has been dominant in the United States since December, with the subvariant BA. 5 now causing a wave of infections across the country, including infecting President Joe Biden.
“We will need to remain vigilant in our fight against COVID-19 and continue to expand Americans’ access to the most productive vaccines and treatments,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. That’s precisely what we’re doing: getting certain Americans to have the equipment they want to stay on and helping our country move forward. “
U. S. orders The U. S. government with Pfizer and Moderna come with features to buy three hundred million doses each, but achieving that overall will require more investment from Congress, Biden’s management said.
About 261 million Americans have won at least one COVID-19 vaccine, but 108 million have gained a booster.