Pfizer says it has second doses of COVID-19 shot on hand, expects no U.S. supply problems

Pfizer says it has second doses of COVID-19 shot on hand, expects no U.S. supply problems Pfizer Inc has been holding on to second doses for each of its COVID-19 vaccinations at the request of the federal government and anticipates no problems supplying them to Americans, a spokeswoman said in a statement on Friday. Carl O’Donnell U.S.

(Reuters) - Pfizer Inc has been holding on to second doses for each of its COVID-19 vaccinations at the request of the federal government and anticipates no problems supplying them to Americans, a spokeswoman said in a statement on Friday.

Pfizer’s comments run counter to a report in the Washington Post that the federal government ran down its vaccine reserve in late December and has no remaining reserves of doses on hand.

“Operation Warp Speed has asked us to start shipping second doses only recently,” the spokeswoman said. “As a result, we have on hand all the second doses of the previous shipments to the US.”

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to requests for comment.

Pfizer has shipped more than 15 million doses to destinations around the United States, primarily from its Michigan facility, and expects to be able to produce around 2 billion doses worldwide in 2021, the spokeswoman said.

The United States has been struggling to administer the shots that have been distributed, however. Only around 12 million of the more than 31 million doses that have been shipped have been administered, according to data from the U.S. Centers from Disease Control and Prevention.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to requests for comment.

Pfizer has shipped more than 15 million doses to destinations around the United States, primarily from its Michigan facility, and expects to be able to produce around 2 billion doses worldwide in 2021, the spokeswoman said.

The United States has been struggling to administer the shots that have been distributed, however. Only around 12 million of the more than 31 million doses that have been shipped have been administered, according to data from the U.S. Centers from Disease Control and Prevention.  ...