Can Moderna and Pfizer Meet President Biden's Vaccine Goals?

2/1/21

By Adria Cimino, MotleyFool

If the goal of President Joe Biden is met, at least 100 million doses of vaccine will be delivered into people's arms by his 100th day in office. In this Motley Fool Live video recorded on Jan. 22, 2021, healthcare and cannabis bureau chief Corinne Cardina and Fool.com contributor Adria Cimino discuss whether Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) and Pfizer(NYSE:PFE) can make that happen.

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Corinne Cardina: What are you watching to determine if you think the 100 million shots in the first 100 days is possible? And is there anything else that we know about the new U.S. vaccination plan under our new president?

Adria Cimino: Well, I think the 100 million doses, I think it's possible if we just look at what companies can produce. In an update earlier this month, for example, Moderna said that it plans on producing 100 million doses for the U.S. in the first quarter. Now, that would be before the president completes his first 100 days, so that's definitely within the time frame. Pfizer said that it will deliver 200 million doses by July 31. Now, we don't know the exact timing of when each batch will come along. But it would seem reasonable to think that between those two companies, we can get to that 100 million doses. But it also depends on logistics. There have been situations where some areas had doses, and they're just sitting around because people in those areas don't want to get vaccinated. Then in other areas where people really need doses, they don't have them. So that really can be an issue. So far, in Biden's vaccination plan, they've outlined several points. There's going to be, of course, more funding to states and towns to get this rolling. They're going to open up more vaccination centers. To start with, they're going to do about 100 vaccination centers in just a month. We can see what happens a month from now to see if that happens and the effects, how many people will actually get vaccinated, etc. They're also coordinating all the efforts on a federal level as far as all the federal agencies involved. They're going to know what each one is doing and they are going to be optimizing communication down to the local governments, down to the states and local governments. That's another important point because it seems that communication has really been an issue up until this point. Also, another important point is who is getting the vaccine? Now, right now it's really been older people. And Biden says that he wants to start encouraging vaccinations for those 65 plus -- so a little bit younger than the 75-plus crowd. Also, vaccination, it's been healthcare workers. But there are also other people who are in the front lines in the sense of they have a lot of contact with people -- like transport workers, or teachers, cashiers at the grocery stores. So those people would be the next on the list after the healthcare workers to get vaccinated. So, we'll see how that transpires down the road.

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