Azar says Trump administration negotiating to buy more Pfizer vaccines after passing on earlier offer

Alex Azar.
(Image credit: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told reporters Wednesday that U.S. officials "are engaged in active negotiations" with Pfizer to purchase more of the company's COVID-19 vaccines, per Politico. The comment seemingly backs up an earlier report from The New York Times, in which anonymous sources familiar with the matter said the same thing.

The Trump administration this summer reportedly turned down an offer to expand on the initial order to buy more than 100 million vaccine doses, and Pfizer went on to strike agreements with other governments, including the European Union. That raised some questions stateside, though it seems the administration was hedging its bets since several other vaccine candidates have appeared promising, as well.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.