U.S. angling formoredoses of Pfizer shots

WASHINGTON — U.S. officials say they’re actively negotiating for additional purchases of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine after passing up a chance to lock in a contract this summer since it was still unclear how well the shots would work.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and special adviser Dr. Moncef Slaoui also told reporters Wednesday that Pfizer had been unable to commit to a firm delivery date. Azar called that “the core issue.”

There was no immediate comment from the company, whose CEO Albert Bourla told CNN this week it is “working very collaboratively” with the government to deliver additional vaccine through the federal Operation Warp Speed.

That’s a White House-backed, taxpayer-funded effort to quickly develop coronavirus vaccines and treatments.

Azar said that pending contracts with a number of manufacturers will ensure enough vaccine for all Americans by around the middle of next year. A second vaccine from Moderna appears headed for Food and Drug Administration approval within days, and more vaccine candidates are advancing through clinical trials.

But the one from Pfizer and German pharmaceutical Biontech was first into the arms of Americans, raising hopes of taming a pandemic that has killed more than 300,000 people in the U.S. and hobbled much of the national economy.

Health care workers and nursing home residents top the list as local TV stations across the country are broadcasting scenes of the first vaccinations. Some polls show skepticism about getting vaccinated may be easing.

Operation Warp Speed has financed the development, manufacture and distribution of millions of doses, with the goal of providing a free vaccine to any American who wants one.