Biden Administration Working to Buy 200 Million More Doses of Covid-19 Vaccines

January has become the worst month for U.S. covid-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic. According to Johns Hopkins University, as of yesterday, nearly 80-thousand people have died this month from coronavirus. The milestone highlights the growing demand from state officials for more vaccines to inoculate Americans. President Biden has announced plans to vaccinate nearly the entire U.S. population by the end of summer. He plans to expedite vaccine distribution efforts as shortages and long lines fuel frustration across the country. The President says the U.S. will buy an additional 200 million vaccine doses from Pfizer and Moderna, increasing the nation’s supply to 600 million. Since both vaccines require two doses, that’s enough to protect 300 million Americans against covid-19, more than the entire adult population. The announcement comes just one day after the President raised his daily vaccination target to 1.5 million people a day. The White House’s coronavirus coordinator said state vaccine allocations will increase by about 16% starting next week.