President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order that gives American citizens priority for a COVID-19 vaccine over foreign nationals.
“America First” Approach For Vaccine
Senior administration officials informed Fox News on Monday of the impending decision by President Trump, who is expected to sign the executive order giving Americans priority for the vaccine on Tuesday.
Breaking #FoxNews Alert : Trump to sign coronavirus vaccine executive order prioritizing Americans over foreign nations
— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) December 7, 2020
The sources told Fox News that the President will emphasise to the people that the search for a coronavirus vaccine has always been approached in an “America First” way.
“The priority is to make sure we distribute these vaccines to Americans before we start shipping them around the world to get international access,” one official told Fox News, saying that international assistance will take place “late spring, early summer,” and only after they “achieve vaccinating those who have a desire to be vaccinated.”
The executive order is “clear and is directing that we prioritize access to the American people before working with partners and allies to provide access to the vaccine,” the official continued.
“We will very soon have highly effective COVID-19 vaccines to the American people,” a second Trump administration official added, saying that a covid vaccine is “critical to ensuring the health and safety of our citizens, viability of the economy and the security of our nation.”
The order will also direct Alex Azar, Secretary of Health and Human Services, to ensure that the vaccine will be distributed to Americans at speeds “unseen before.”
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Pfizer And Moderna Executives Refuse To Attend Summit
The announcement will come at a celebratory “vaccine summit” held at the White House. The CEO’s of Pfizer and Moderna, the two vaccine manufacturers who are likely to receive authorization for a covid vaccine first, will not be attending the summit for reasons unknown.
Both Pfizer and Moderna, the two major drug manufacturers likely to receive emergency authorizations for a Covid-19 vaccine in the coming weeks, have rejected invitations from President Trump to appear at a White House “Vaccine Summit” on Tuesdayhttps://t.co/zpC6s9Y4bL
— Shimon Prokupecz (@ShimonPro) December 7, 2020
Both companies benefited substantially from the Trump administration’s “Operation Warp Speed” that funded the development of a COVID-19 vaccine, with Moderna taking money directly.
Kathrin Jensen, a Pfizer executive, had attempted to distance her organization from OWS in November, claiming the company had “never taken any money from the US government,” despite agreeing to a $1.95 billion purchase order guaranteeing them a massive market for their vaccine.