The United States announced on Wednesday that it has reached an agreement with BioNTech and Pfizer for 105 million doses of Covid vaccine for Americans this fall.
A panel of government experts recommended on Tuesday that vaccines for babies, young children, teens and adults, as well as Omicron-specific vaccines, which includes a $3.2 billion contract between the companies and the US health and defense departments.
The companies said that the delivery will begin in the late summer and continue into the fourth quarter. The US can get up to 300 million doses from the contract.
The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to doing everything possible to make vaccines free and widely available to Americans, and this is an important first step to prepare for the fall, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement.
President Joe Biden's administration asked Congress for $23.5 billion in additional Covid funding, but a bill has not yet been passed.
The federal government was forced to redlocate $10 billion in existing funding, pulling billions of dollars from Covid 19 response efforts, with the new vaccines procured through this reallocation.
Without funding, future vaccines could only be given to those at the highest risk, according to White House officials.