WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is planning to invest billions of dollars in expanding COVID-19 manufacturing capacity to have at least a billion doses by the second half of next year, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing top White House advisers.
The announcement to be made Wednesday comes as the administration of President Joe Biden faces pressure from activists to increase the vaccine supply to poorer countries.
The investment in vaccine production is part of a private-public partnership to address vaccine needs at home and around the world and also to prepare for future pandemics, Dr. David Kessler, who oversees vaccine distribution, and Jeff Zients, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, told the Times.
The plan is estimated to cost several billion dollars and will be paid for with funds from the American Rescue Plan Biden signed into law in March, Kessler told the Times.
“This is about assuring expanded capacity against COVID variants and also preparing for the next pandemic,” Kessler told the newspaper.
“The goal, in the case of a future pandemic, a future virus, is to have vaccine capability within six to nine months of identification of that pandemic pathogen, and to have enough vaccines for all Americans,” he said.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
