“In the short term, this would make a significant amount of Covid-19 vaccine doses available at cost for global use,” the administration official said. “In the long term, it would help establish sustained domestic manufacturing capacity to rapidly produce vaccines for future threats.”
The U.S. has pledged to donate at least 1.1 billion doses to foreign countries and encouraged other wealthy countries to make similar commitments. Yet the global vaccination campaign is still well behind schedule, with many poorer nations still struggling to get access to first doses.
The administration has not yet said how much it’s willing to invest in expanding companies’ manufacturing, and it’s unclear how many drugmakers will take the government up on its offer.
U.S. officials are specifically seeking partnerships with companies that make mRNA vaccines, such as those produced by Pfizer and Moderna, the administration official said.
Moderna in particular has resisted allocating more of its vaccine supply to low-income countries, citing its limited manufacturing capabilities and preexisting commitments to the U.S. and other affluent nations.
The company is instead close to finalizing a deal with global vaccine equity initiative COVAX to pledge more doses for the developing world that would be delivered throughout 2022, POLITICO first reported earlier this week.