The Biden administration said Tuesday it will increase the weekly supply of COVID-19 vaccines to the states by 5% and dispatch 1 million additional doses to launch a pharmacy program that will provide vaccination at 6,500 sites before expanding.
U.S. COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients also said President Biden is tapping federal accounts to reimburse supply and National Guard costs they incurred since January 2020— an amount that totals $3 billion to $5 billion.
Mr. Zients said the increase in vaccine supply will bring the national shipment to 10.5 million this week. That amount will serve as the baseline for the next three weeks — supply could increase — as governors demand a preview at how many vaccines they should expect so they can plan their efforts without over-promising.
“We are very tuned into not having that fluctuation,” Mr. Zients said. “We are guaranteeing minimum levels of doses.”
This is the second increase announced by the Biden team. Last week, it said weekly allocations would increase from 8.6 million to 10 million.
Mr. Zients pointed to the gradual “scaling” of operations at Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which make the two vaccines approved for use in the U.S. Also, he said every jurisdiction is receiving the type of syringe that allows it to draw a sixth dose from the Pfizer vials, instead of just five.
On top of the weekly allocation, Mr. Zients said 6,500 pharmacies will 1 million doses for the first phase of a federal pharmacy program that begins Feb. 11.
“This will provide more sites for Americans to get vaccinated in their communities,” Mr. Zients said.
However, Mr. Zients cautioned that availability is subject to local supply and eligibility rules determined by each state.
The program will eventually expand to 40,000 chain pharmacies and mom-and-pop locations.
Mr. Zients said the administration will be tracking how well the pharmacies do in ensuring equity, so that underserved and at-risk communities receive a fair share of doses.
The federal government and states are trying to speed the vaccination campaign in the face of daunting coronavirus strains that spread quickly and, in some instances, could be more deadly or diminish the power of vaccines.
Dr. Anthony Fauci and other scientists have characterized the mutations as a “wake-up call” for the globe, saying viruses will continue to mutate until the world finds a way to bring it down to manageable levels.
The U.S. has delivered over 30 million doses into arms and is administering 1.34 million doses per day, on average, though an increasing share will be given to people as second doses instead of increasing the number of people receiving first-round protection.
Experts and Mr. Biden’s critics say the Trump administration handed him a program that was near his early goal of 1 million doses per day, so Washington should find a way to scale up to 3 million doses per day.
Johnson & Johnson will seek approval of its one-dose vaccine in the coming days, while Moderna said it is exploring ways to fill each of its vials with 15 doses, instead of 10, so the product moves faster.
The company said its president, Stephen Hoge, announced the proposal because “one of the capacity constraints beyond the amount of drug product available, is how many vials you can fill in a given period of time.”
Moderna is working with the Food and Drug Administration to see if regulators are comfortable with the approach before it is implemented.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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