US Buys 200 Million More COVID-19 Vaccine Doses

The United States says it is buying 200 million more doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to anticipate future needs, including the possibility of booster shots as well as doses for children under 12 if regulators approve its use.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday the additional doses would be delivered between this fall and spring of next year. She said the Biden administration is “going to prepare for every contingency” and wants to have “maximum flexibility” to deal with future possibilities. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve any COVID-19 vaccine for children under 12, but drugmakers have been testing their vaccines’ efficacy and safety in that age group.