EU and Japan Set to Receive More Pfizer Vaccines Than U.S., and Americans May Have to Wait for More Doses

Both the EU and Japan have forged larger initial supply deals for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine than the U.S. government, which is in the hot seat for declining to order additional vaccine doses, and it appears Pfizer will have to honor its deals with other countries before it can provide more to the U.S., though the government disputes that.

The EU has worked out a deal for 200 million doses of BNT162b2 with a provision for 100 million more, while Japan has ordered 120 million doses. In contrast, the U.S. has locked in 100 million doses in a $1.95 billion deal, though its contract provides an option for 500 million additional shots. But concerns have mounted after it became evident that the U.S. passed on offers for more of Pfizer’s vaccine, which could receive the FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) and be cleared for distribution to high-risk patients as soon as this weekend (DID, Dec. 9).

Additionally, Canada on Wednesday became the second Western nation to authorize the Pfizer vaccine, following the UK’s emergency clearance, marking another country that is expecting dose deliveries from the company now that authorization has been granted. The Canadian government has reached a deal with Pfizer for 76 million doses and the country will receive up to 249,000 doses this month.

This week, former FDA chief and current Pfizer board member Scott Gottlieb confirmed that the federal government declined additional allotments of Pfizer’s highly effective vaccine despite being given multiple opportunities to obtain more. The ex-commissioner projected that the Trump administration is counting on other vaccines being authorized to bolster the supply of viable vaccines it can use to vaccinate Americans (DID, Dec. 9), such as Moderna’s highly effective vaccine, which is anticipated to receive emergency authorization possibly later this month.

Following the U.S. government’s rejection, Pfizer moved on to making supply deals with other countries for its in-demand vaccine, and the company has said it will “supply each country with vaccine doses through a robust process, consistent with supply agreements we’ve entered into with individual countries.”

Pfizer will likely need to honor those agreements with other countries before it can provide more doses to the U.S. beyond its current contract, and that reportedly could take until June or July. The Trump administration has denied passing on additional Pfizer vaccine doses and White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany maintained that the U.S. will “absolutely” receive additional supplies before next summer.

President Trump this week threatened to use the Defense Production Act, a federal law that commands private companies to manufacture emergency supplies, “if for any reason we have any problems,” and could conceivably attempt to use the emergency legislation to obtain more Pfizer vaccine doses. HHS Secretary Alex Azar seconded possible use of the law during an interview Wednesday and stressed that the government is working to obtain more doses.

“We’re waiting for Pfizer to commit that they can actually deliver by a certain date. We committed to buy 100 million doses of their vaccine back in July. The most we could get out of them was an option for 500 million additional doses,” he said. “We are actively negotiating to acquire more, and we’ve said we will use the Defense Production Act and any authorities and powers we need to ensure the American people get what they want and need.”

The president also signed a vague executive order that he said will “ensure that American citizens have first priority to receive American vaccines.” It’s important to note that Pfizer declined federal government funding for the development of its COVID-19 vaccine, leaving it free of potential obligations to prioritize U.S. supply.

Neither the White House nor Pfizer responded to requests for comment. — James Miessler