Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla on Tuesday said that the pharmaceutical giant ramped up production of its two-dose COVID-19 vaccine and can deliver 10 percent more doses to the U.S. than it previously agreed to produce by the end of May.
Bourla said Pfizer is also on track to deliver a total of 300 million doses to the country two weeks earlier than expected.
.@Pfizer has ramped up production of our #COVID19 vaccine & can deliver 10% more doses to the US by the end of May than previously agreed (total of 220M) & supply the full 300M agreed on for the end of July two weeks early. In the fight against COVID-19, we’re in this together.
— AlbertBourla (@AlbertBourla) April 13, 2021
The Pfizer CEO’s announcement was issued the same day that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a joint recommendation advising health care providers to stop administering Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine “out of an abundance of caution,” following an FDA advisory reporting that six women in the U.S. developed a rare blood-clotting disorder that led to the death of one woman and put another in critical condition.
During the FDA and CDC’s press conference on their announcement, acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said the pause was expected to last for “a matter of days.”
Shortly after the FDA and CDC held a press conference on its recommended pause of J&J vaccine distribution, several states moved to cease its distribution.
Earlier Tuesday, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients said that federal health agencies’ recommendation to pause J&J’s COVID-19 vaccines wouldn’t impede the Biden administration’s vaccine rollout program.
“This announcement will not have a significant impact on our vaccination plan: Johnson & Johnson vaccine makes up less than 5 percent of the recorded shots in arms in the United States to date,” Zients said in a statement.
Zients said that the 300 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines secured by the Biden administration indicated that the country has “more than enough supply” to continue its current rate of 3 million vaccinations per day. Zients also assured that President Biden’s goal of 200 million shots by his 100th day in office is still in reach.
