Moderna Offers U.S. Fail-Safe on Vaccines If Pfizer Falls Short

Moderna Inc. could offer a fail-safe option that will allow the U.S. to get enough Covid-19 shots to inoculate most Americans if the government can’t reach an agreement to quickly buy more vaccine from Pfizer Inc., which plans to honor its contracts with other countries.

Existing U.S. deals with Pfizer and Moderna for 100 million doses of each company’s vaccine are only enough to inoculate a maximum of 100 million people combined. But earlier this year, Moderna said the U.S. has the option to buy 400 million more doses at a fixed price of $16.50 per shot.

A participant in a Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial sponsored by Moderna gets a shot during the trial.

Photographer: Paul Hennessy/AP

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