December 08. UK starts vaccination, US buys vaccines
December 8 could be a historic day in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic as the United Kingdom officially began vaccination today. The UK uses a vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech and has reportedly purchased 40 million doses. Pfizer said it could produce 50 million doses this month; production volume in 2021 is not yet clear.
Donald Trump's government purchased 100 million doses of Pfizer's vaccine in advance (enough to vaccinate 50 million people, since each person needs two doses every few weeks). Pfizer then offered a contract for the supply of more vaccines, which Trump refused.
The current agreement between the US government and Pfizer allows for the purchase of up to 500 million doses in the second half of 2021. However, this number is optional. As other countries place their own vaccine orders and Pfizer has a production logistics scheme, the US may not be able to purchase another 500 million doses, even if it wants to.
The question of when and how Americans will be vaccinated is critical, as the country has reached a record 102,000 hospitalizations and the highest weekly death rate. The United States has recorded over 15.3 million cases (200,000 new just yesterday) and over 290,000 Covid-19-related deaths.
The situation with coronaviruses in Europe is starting to stabilize thanks to November lockdowns. France, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany are seeing significant declines in the number of Covid-19 cases. Russia is currently the largest coronavirus hotspot outside the US, outperforming even India in its daily statistics.
