JUST IN: Pfizer Claims Millions More Vaccine Doses Sitting in Warehouse Awaiting US Government Shipment Instructions
Photo credit: Joel Saget, AFP via Getty Images
In a just-released statement, Pfizer revealed that it has “millions more doses sitting in our warehouse but, as of now, we have not received any shipment instructions for additional doses.” The rather stunning bit of information came in an otherwise positive press release titled “Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Production and Distribution Working Well.”
By any fair measure, Operation Warp Speed has been a phenomenal success in fast-tracking the development, testing, approval, and delivery of a number of privately made vaccines for the Covid-19 pandemic. As of Thursday, over 300,000 American citizens have succumbed to the deadly contagion, which took over 3,600 American lives just Wednesday.
There are clearly operational issues in terms of delivering a vaccine that requires a specific temperature, as well as the infrastructure for actual per person delivery. Pfizer’s claim that it was awaiting shipment was first caught by Bloomberg’s Josh Wingrove, who tweeted earlier on Thursday, and reached out to the White House response. As Wingrove states, Kayleigh McEnany noted there would be another 4 million Pfizer vaccine does shipped on Friday, though its unclear if she and Pfizer are referring to the same batch.
Read the entire press release below:
Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Production and Distribution Working Well
New York, NY, December 17, 2020 – Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) today released the following statement to address public comments that allege there are issues in the production and distribution of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine:
“Pfizer is not having any production issues with our COVID-19 vaccine, and no shipments containing the vaccine are on hold or delayed. This week, we successfully shipped all 2.9 million doses that we were asked to ship by the U.S. Government to the locations specified by them. We have millions more doses sitting in our warehouse but, as of now, we have not received any shipment instructions for additional doses.
We have continuously shared with Operation Warp Speed (OWS) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through weekly meetings every aspect of our production and distribution capabilities. They have visited our facilities, walked the production lines and been updated on our production planning as information has become available.
Pfizer has a successful and long track record of producing and distributing large volumes of complex vaccines that the world can trust – and we are continuing to extend this track record with our COVID-19 vaccine. Over the last several months, we have activated Pfizer’s extensive manufacturing network, including thousands of highly skilled workers in multiple locations. As a result, Pfizer is manufacturing and readying for release millions of doses each day, and that volume will grow over the coming weeks.
We remain confident in our ability to deliver up to 50 million doses globally this year and up to 1.3 billion next year, and we look forward to continuing to work with the US Government to deliver our vaccine to the American people.”
