Sidebar

[MargieRose]

"Facts are under assault in 2020"

How Pfizer's and Moderna's COVID-19 vaccines are tied to Operation Warp Speed

Operation Warp Speed

Historically, vaccine development, testing and approval take years, in part because of tight resources. The goal of Operation Warp Speed is to break down hurdles and produce and deliver 300 million doses of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines by January 2021 — about a year after the novel coronavirus emerged in China. Beyond vaccines, Operation Warp Speed also oversees the accelerated development, manufacturing and distribution of therapeutics and diagnostics for COVID-19.

Operation Warp Speed, launched in May, is a partnership among agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services and the Defense Department. HHS is leading vaccine development efforts while the Defense Department is helping guide distribution. Operation Warp Speed also includes partnerships with private firms; companies can pitch to the federal government products and technologies to combat the coronavirus.

Vaccine deals

Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine

The U.S. government committed $1.95 billion for large-scale manufacturing and delivery of 100 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech. Pfizer’s vaccine would need to get emergency-use authorization or approval from the FDA.

The agreement also allows the United States to acquire up to 500 million additional doses.

Moderna

In the Nov. 16 announcement of the vaccine’s efficacy, Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel thanked "partners at BARDA and Operation Warp Speed who have been instrumental to accelerating our progress to this point."

Investment in other vaccines

Johnson & Johnson...

AstraZeneca...

Novavax...

Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline...

Merck and IAVI...