JULY 29, 2022 – On July 28, 2022, the Department of Defense (DoD), on behalf of and in coordination with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), awarded a $1.74 billion agreement to purchase over 65 million doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for a fall vaccination campaign.
The vaccine will target the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariant viruses, as recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
This purchase is in addition to the 105 million COVID-19 vaccine doses the U.S. Government recently purchased from Pfizer for the fall vaccination campaign.
Combined, the two agreements provide over 170 million mRNA vaccine booster doses for adults and children this fall, with options to procure up to 600 million doses if needed to meet demand.
With FDA authorization of the vaccine and a recommendation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HHS will receive the first deliveries of the vaccine in early fall.
The DoD’s Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND) led this effort in partnership with DoD’s Defense Assisted Acquisition Cell (DA2), U.S. Army Contracting Command, and HHS’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
“We must stay vigilant in our fight against COVID-19 and continue to expand Americans’ access to the best vaccines and treatments,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “As we look to the fall and winter, we’re doing just that—ensuring Americans have the tools they need to stay safe and help keep our nation moving forward.”
The U.S. orders with Pfizer and Moderna include options to purchase 300 million doses each, but reaching that total will require more funding from Congress, the Biden administration said.
About 261 million Americans have received at least one COVID-19 shot, but only 108 million have received a booster.