Health
New York Gov. Cuomo asks to purchase straight from Pfizer – NEWPAPER24
New York Gov. Cuomo asks to purchase straight from Pfizer
2021-01-18 19:22:25
Andrew Kelly | Newpaper24
The request comes after an alarmingly sluggish begin to the nationwide vaccine rollout, with the nation thousands and thousands of injections in need of the Trump administration’s preliminary projections. As of Jan. 15, the U.S. had distributed greater than 31 million doses and administered simply over 12 million. Well being officers had hoped to inject 20 million Individuals by the top of 2020.
Cuomo, a Democrat, blamed the Trump administration for failing to ship sufficient vaccine doses to his state. This week, he mentioned, New York would obtain 250,000 doses — 50,000 fewer than the week earlier than.
In his letter to Bourla, Cuomo recommended Pfizer ought to have the ability to promote on to his state, bypassing federal companies, since Pfizer is “not sure by commitments that Moderna made as a part of Operation Warp Pace.”
“The corporate’s determination to choose out of Operation Warp Pace, which the Biden administration plans to overtake, places it in a novel scenario that would assist us save lives proper right here in New York,” Cuomo wrote.
Pfizer advised CNBC that mannequin would first need to be cleared below the emergency use authorization granted by the Meals and Drug Administration for the drug’s use.
The corporate mentioned in a press release it “is open to collaborating with HHS on a distribution mannequin that offers as many Individuals as potential entry to our vaccine as shortly as potential. Nevertheless, earlier than we are able to promote on to State governments, HHS would wish to approve that proposal based mostly on the EUA granted to Pfizer by the FDA.”
Representatives for the HHS didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
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