U.S. Government: The New Coronavirus Vaccine will be Free for All Americans and Strictly Supervise Safety

The U.S. government stated on August 13 local time that if the new coronavirus pneumonia vaccine under development is proven effective, the United States will ensure that it is distributed to all Americans free of charge, and emphasized that it 'will not take shortcuts' in terms of vaccine safety.

Paul Mango, a senior official of the US Department of Health and Human Services, told reporters that the price of the vaccine dose itself will be paid by the government, and doctors or clinics that administer the vaccine will need to pay, but most of these costs should be paid by private and public insurance companies.

Mango said that 'most' commercial insurance companies have agreed to exempt customers from any out-of-pocket expenses. 'We are step by step planning to provide hundreds of millions of vaccine doses by January 2021,' he added.

It is reported that since May this year, the U.S. government has signed pre-purchase agreements for the new coronavirus vaccine with at least six global pharmaceutical companies. Vaccine developers include Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., Novavax, Modena, and New Biotech. The company, the British company AstraZeneca, etc., have a cumulative contract value of more than 10 billion U.S. dollars to ensure the delivery of hundreds of millions of doses of vaccines after clinical trials are approved.

US President Donald Trump announced in May the launch of a plan called 'Operation Warp Speed' to accelerate scientific research on new coronavirus vaccines, drugs, and testing. It is expected that all Americans will receive the new vaccine by January next year. Stimulated by this plan, tens of millions of dollars have flowed into a number of vaccine research and development institutions.

At the same time, in response to concerns about the safety of the vaccine developed, Mango said, 'We have not reduced the strictness of the supervision of the evaluation and approval of the vaccine.'

Francis Collins, president of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), said he is 'cautiously optimistic' that at least one of the six vaccines invested by the United States will be approved by the end of this year.

However, Trump’s critics say that the US government may bypass safety precautions and announce the availability of vaccines before the November 3 election. Mango denied this 'accusation'.