U.S. Ranks 32nd in Number of Vaccine Preorder Reservations
Experts are concerned about whether U.S. health officials have prepurchased enough doses and additional vaccine supplies — as an insurance policy against manufacturing issues or scientific delays — to cover the entire population. A Bloomberg analysis of more than 80 country agreements with vaccine makers reveals that the United States ranks behind 31 other countries, per capita, in its allocations to reserve Covid-19 vaccines that are still in development. “[W]hile the U.S. locked up a deal with Pfizer to buy 100 million doses of vaccine for its population of about 330 million, the EU pre-bought 200 million doses for its about 450 million people,” Bloomberg reports. “The Moderna shot is the only one for which the U.S. has made a bigger allotment, with 100 million doses versus the EU’s 80 million. Together with the Pfizer shot, it’s enough for the U.S. to theoretically vaccinate 100 million Americans.”
