The federal government is doubling down on its purchases of a COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna. The Trump administration plans to buy an additional 100 million doses of the vaccine, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Friday.
The purchase increases the U.S. government’s commitment to 200 million vaccine doses. Of those, 20 million doses are set to be delivered to states by the end of December, with the remainder expected to go out in the second quarter of 2021, Moderna said in a press release.
Moderna’s vaccine, called mRNA-1273, is administered in two doses 28 days apart. The drugmaker has applied for emergency use approval for the vaccine from the Federal Drug Administration, which is expected to make a recommendation next week.
If the vaccine is approved, doses could begin shipping “immediately,” HHS said. The vaccine will be free to patients, according to the release.
The vaccine was jointly developed by Moderna and scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. A clinical trial this year showed the vaccine to be about 94% effective.
Earlier on Friday, an FDA panel recommended approval of a COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer.
