USA Purchases Another 100 Million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses

The US Department of Defense announced on December 29, 2020; it had awarded Moderna, Inc. a contract worth $1,966,598,000 for an additional 100 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine (mRNA-1273). Moderna is expected to be fulfilled this purchase order by June 30, 2021, reported BioSpace.

Previously, on December 11, 2020, the U.S. government exercised its option to acquire an additional 100 million vaccine doses, which brought the total purchases up to 200 million. US Health Secretary Alex Azar stated: “This new federal purchase can give Americans even greater confidence we will have enough supply to vaccinate all Americans who want it by the second quarter of 2021.”

The Moderna COVID‑19 vaccine was authorized for emergency use by the U.S. FDA, under an Emergency Use Authorization, to prevent severe COVID‑19 for use in individuals 18 years of age and older, on December 18, 2020. The experimental mRNA vaccine has not been approved or licensed by the FDA.