U.S. reaches deal with Pfizer, BioNTech to distribute potential coronavirus vaccine

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Wed, 2020-07-22 09:37 — mike kraft

Live updates: U.S. reaches deal with Pfizer, BioNTech to distribute potential coronavirus vaccine As the United States reported more than 1,000 coronavirus-related deaths, President Trump offered a grim acknowledgement about the pandemic. Antonia Farzan, Katie Shepherd, Miriam Berger, Jennifer Hassan, Lateshia Beachum, Derek Hawkins, Kim Bellware, John Wagner, Taylor Telford Washington Post

Pfizer and BioNTech will supply the federal government with 100 million doses of coronavirus vaccine under a $1.95 billion deal, the biotech companies announced Wednesday. The agreement via the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed vaccination effort would allow the government to acquire an additional 500 doses of the vaccine candidate, provided it has proved effective and secures regulatory approval.

The contract was announced a day after the United States reported more than 1,000 coronavirus-related deaths and President Trump offered a grim acknowledgment that the pandemic “will probably, unfortunately, get worse before it gets better.”

Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Protection, told ABC News on Wednesday it was “very hard to predict” how bad the covid-19 crisis could get, and emphasized the importance of wearing face masks, but would not commit to support for a national mask mandate. Scott Gottlieb, the former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, was more specific during an appearance on CNBC: By “the end of the year we could have upward of 300,000 [deaths] if we continue on the current trajectory,” he said.

More than 65,000 new coronavirus cases were recorded Tuesday, adding to a nationwide tally of more than 3,874,000 since the crisis began.

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