Pfizer CEO Bourla: ‘This Year, We Will Have Around 50 Million Doses Available’ — Most ‘Already Manufactured’

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla on Monday discussed the historic rollout of the coronavirus vaccine. Trucks delivering the vaccine to UPS and FedEx, which will then ship out to 636 predetermined locations in all 50 states, left Pfizer’s Michigan headquarters early Sunday morning.

Bourla told CNN’s “New Day” that there will be around 50 million doses available this year, most of which have already been manufactured. He added Pfizer would manufacture 1.3 billion in 2021 with the intention to increase the number.

“This year, we will have around 50 million doses available. Most of them have already been manufactured. So, the doses are available,” Bourla advised. “Next year, we will do 1.3 billion doses. And, of course, those numbers are global. From the 50 million doses that we are going to manufacture this year, approximately half will be allocated to the U.S. and half to the remaining of the world.”

He added, “So far, we have an agreement with the U.S. government to provide them 100 million doses, and this is a fix order. And we will provide those 100 million doses starting from now by the end of the first quarter. And we will honor this commitment, but the U.S. government is asking more. They have asked now an additional 100 million doses from us. … We can provide them the additional 100 million doses, but right now, most of that we can provide in the third quarter. The U.S. government wants them in the second quarter. So, we’re working very collaboratively with them to make sure that we can find ways to produce more or allocate the doses in the second quarter as well. But we haven’t signed this agreement yet.”

Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent