Biden administration to buy 500M Pfizer doses for global distribution

The Biden administration plans to purchase 500 million doses of Pfizer coronavirus vaccine to distribute to other nations, significantly adding to its ongoing efforts to inoculate populations around the world, according to three people familiar with the plans.

The move by the U.S. government could lead to 200 million Pfizer doses being sent worldwide this year, followed by another 300 million across the first half of 2022, according to the individuals familiar with the plan.

President Joe Biden will announce the plan tomorrow ahead of the G-7 meeting in the United Kingdom. A person familiar with the details said the plan will involve distributing all the doses through the the vaccine initiative COVAX to 92 developing countries and the African Union.