President Joe Biden is expected to announce plans to purchase an additional 100 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.
CNN reports a White House official confirms the president will announce his plan to direct the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to purchase the doses on Wednesday (March 10.)
The Biden administration and Johnson & Johnson will, however, still need to negotiate when the 100 million doses become available which, a source with knowledge on the situation, told CNN was likely to happen later this year.
On Tuesday, the White House told governors to expect fewer than 400,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine next week, which is below the initial expected amount available.
CNN reports President Biden will make the announcement during a meeting with Johnson & Johnson and Merck scheduled Wednesday afternoon as part of a deal brokered by the White House.
Last week, President Biden announced the U.S. would have enough COVID-19 vaccine doses for every adult American by the end of May, which was two months faster than the initial timeline provided by his administration.
The reported purchase of the additional 100 million doses will not accelerate that timeline, but instead provide the U.S. with vaccine stock later in the year.
Photo: Getty Images