US President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that an additional 200 million doses of the approved COVID-19 vaccines are being purchased which are likely to cover 300 million Americans by the end of summer, reported AFP. 

The 200 million additional doses consist of equal contributions from Pfizer and Moderna, each supplying 100 million doses. 

“With these additional doses, the US will have enough vaccine to fully vaccinate 300 million Americans by the end of this summer,” virtually the entire US population, a White House official told reporters, reported Associated Press. 

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The announcement comes after the Biden administration has been putting evident and tangible efforts to pull back the US from the unrest caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. As federal scientists review the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for authorisation, hopes for surplus vaccines increase in the US. 

With complaints about vaccine shortage in certain parts of the US that seem to be rising mainly due to logistical hurdles, Biden has also promised an estimated boost of 16% in the deliveries over the coming weeks, reported AFP. 

While announcing that the US will be increasing the supply from 8.6 million doses a week to a minimum of 10 million doses, the US President said, “This is going to allow millions of more Americans to get vaccinated sooner than previously anticipated.”

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He added, “More than 400,000 Americans have already died,” he said. “This is a war-time undertaking. It’s not hyperbole. The death toll, experts tell us, is likely to top 500,000 by the end of next month, this February. And cases will continue to mount. We didn’t get into this mess overnight. It’s going to take months for us to turn things around. But let me be equally clear. We’re going to get through this. We will defeat this pandemic.”