Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine could be approved by the FDA as soon as this week.
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Trump administration officials on Monday denied a New York Times report that said they passed when Pfizer offered in late summer to sell the U.S. government additional doses of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
Now Pfizer
PFE,
may not be able provide more of its vaccine to the U.S. until next June because of its commitments to other nations, the report added.
Senior administration officials told reporters on a conference call that the Times report was false, and the administration expects to have enough doses to vaccinate all Americans who want one before the end of next year’s second quarter.
Administration officials also played down news that Moderna
MRNA,
and Pfizer, developers of COVID-19 vaccine candidates, will not participate in a vaccine summit planned for Tuesday.
Pfizer and Moderna rejected invitations to the summit from President Donald Trump, according to a STAT News report on Monday. The report added that drug-industry figures viewed the event as a public-relations stunt.
But the administration officials countered that it was “more appropriate” not to have vaccine companies with pending applications before the Food and Drug Administration participate in the summit, given that an FDA official was taking part.
The administration officials said Tuesday’s summit would involve representatives from CVS
CVS,
Walgreens
WBA,
UPS
UPS,
FedEx
FDX,
McKesson
MCK,
and Thermo Fisher
TMO,
