On Wednesday, the United States Department of Health & Human Services and Department of Defense announced a pact of $1.95 billion with Pfizer to produce a hundred million doses of coronavirus vaccine in the country. The agreement also allows the American government to get an additional five hundred million doses.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Defense announced on Wednesday a $1.95 billion agreement with Pfizer to produce 100 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine in the United States. https://t.co/OhrSfGNiPZ

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The initial hundred million vaccines will belong to the U.S. federal government; however, the vaccine will require emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration of the United States to distribute. The developers of vaccine, Pfizer, and BioNTech, still require to complete the clinical trial of Phase 3 to demonstrate the vaccine effectively save people from the COVID-19.

According to the United States Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), if the vaccine is successful and receives licensure or EUA, countrywide delivery will start in the 2020 fourth quarter. The doses Pfizer would deliver to locations in the direction of the U.S. government.

Alex Azar, the HHS Secretary, states in a press release that the federal government is gathering various vaccines through the Operation Warp Speed program to have at least one effective coronavirus vaccine available to U.S. nationals. According to the WHO, there are around two dozen coronavirus vaccines in the phase of clinical trials across the world.

American people will receive Pfizer vaccine at no cost

The press release of HHS says that the Pfizer vaccine would be available to U.S. nationals at no cost. Whereas, health care professionals may charge insurers for the administration of the vaccine. According to Azar, any government-backed coronavirus vaccine will be free or affordable for the citizens of the country. For any COVID-19 vaccine that government bought – such as, the Pfizer vaccine – those 100 million doses would actually attain by the United States government, then given free for citizens.

Further, he adds that it was the same with the Novovax and the AstraZeneca vaccine, and they will continue to be in a debate about the others. The government will ensure that any government-sponsoring vaccine will either free to the U.S. nationals or is affordable to them. The Biomedical Advanced Research & Development Authority (BARDA) works together with the DoD Joint Program Executive Office for Radiological, Biological, Chemical, and Nuclear Defense and Army Contracting Command to give $1.95 billion for the manufacturing and countrywide delivery of the first hundred million doses.

The CEO and chairman of Pfizer stated that they dedicated to making the impossible possible by working determinedly to create and produce an effective and safe vaccine in record time to help bring an end to this international health crisis. His management takes the early decision to start clinical work along with manufacturing at a larger scale at their own risk to ensure the immediate availability after successful clinical trials and approval from Emergency Use Authorization.

Pfizer to start Phase 3 trial in late July

Pfizer and BioNTech released an initial data in a pre-print paper in which they said that its coronavirus vaccine proved safe and elicited COVID-19 antibody and T cell immune responses in Phase 1 and Phase 2 trials. But more research needed to prove it more effective. According to Pfizer and BioNTech, they will start a Phase 3 trial of the coronavirus vaccine in late July after receiving regulatory approval.