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Washington (AP) - According to President Joe Biden, the USA will have enough vaccine for around 300 million people by the end of July - which would be sufficient for all adults in the country.
Thanks to a new contract with vaccine manufacturers Moderna and Pfizer for 100 million additional corona vaccine doses each, the government has now secured a total of 600 million doses, Biden said.
The full amount will also be delivered by the end of July, faster than last planned, said Biden during a visit to the National Health Institute (NIH).
The USA has a population of around 330 million.
Two doses of vaccine are required per head.
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Biden had announced the purchase of the 200 million additional cans back in late January, about a week after he began his tenure.
He did not save with criticism of his predecessor Donald Trump.
"He didn't order enough vaccine," Biden said.
"He did not do his job to be prepared for the massive challenge of vaccinating hundreds of millions of Americans," said the Democrat.
“America had no plan to vaccinate most of the country.
It was a big mess, ”said Biden.
Trump's government has aggressively promoted and funded vaccine development, which even Biden had previously praised.
The US government has also ordered doses of the previously unapproved vaccines, including 100 million from the manufacturer Johnson & Johnson.
The emergency approval for the vaccine, which manages with one dose, is expected in March at the latest.
The US has also ordered 100 million cans from Novavax.
However, Trump's government largely left the planning of the actual vaccinations, the associated logistical challenges and costs to the states, districts and municipalities.
Biden is putting a lot of pressure on kicking off the vaccination campaign.
His government says it has increased weekly deliveries of the vaccine to states by around 30 percent since taking office.
In the meantime, employees and resources of the disaster control agency Fema and soldiers are used for the campaign.
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Vaccine manufacturers Moderna and Pfizer will receive around six billion US dollars (five billion euros) for their 300 million doses each, according to a press release from the Ministry of Health.
The US pharmaceutical company Pfizer is working on the vaccine with the Mainz company Biontech.
So far, nearly 35 million people in the United States have received at least the first vaccination, which is more than ten percent of the population.
Around 11.2 million people have already received the necessary two doses, according to data from the CDC health authority.
According to the Robert Koch Institute, around 2.5 million people in Germany have received their first vaccination so far, which corresponds to around three percent of the population.
Almost 1.2 million people have already received both vaccinations.
The vaccines have not yet been approved for children.
Further clinical studies must be carried out prior to such approval.
US experts do not expect such approval before the middle of the year - it could also be later.
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In the USA, the authorities have so far reported around 27.4 million confirmed corona infections.
More than 475,000 people died after being infected with the virus.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210212-99-406840 / 3