Biden to quickly release nearly all vaccine doses in shift from Trump

President-elect Joe Biden plans to release almost all vaccine doses immediately, a spokesman said Friday, a change from the Trump administration’s strategy of holding half of the supply in reserve for second doses. 

“The President-Elect believes we must accelerate distribution of the vaccine while continuing to ensure the Americans who need it most get it as soon as possible,” Biden spokesman TJ Ducklo said in a statement. “He supports releasing available doses immediately, and believes the government should stop holding back vaccine supply so we can get more shots in Americans’ arms now.”

The Trump administration pushed back on Biden’s announcement, saying that their plan is to release more doses “as manufacturing further stabilizes,” and that they already are releasing as many vaccines as they can while ensuring the availability of second doses later on.

“If President-Elect Biden is calling for the distribution of vaccines knowing that there would not be a second dose available, that decision is without science or data and is contrary to the FDA’s approved label,” said Operation Warp Speed spokesman Michael Pratt. “If President-Elect Biden is suggesting that the maximum number of doses should be made available, consistent with ensuring that a second dose of vaccine will be there when the patient shows up, then that is already happening.”

The Trump administration has been holding back half of the available doses to ensure there is enough supply for everyone who is getting a first dose to later get a second dose as well. But the Biden transition said it is confident there will be enough manufacturing to ensure enough supply for second doses.

A group of eight Democratic governors also wrote to the Trump administration on Friday asking them to immediately release the doses held in reserve. But the Trump administration on Friday pushed back on that idea and noted that not all of the doses already distributed have been actually administered.

Now, the Biden team is saying it will make the change once it takes office on Jan. 20 in a bid to speed up the vaccine campaign, which has been off to a slow start.

More details will be shared next week, Ducklo said.

Scott Gottlieb, a former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner under President Trump, has been calling for making this change in strategy to accelerate vaccinations for weeks.

“This is a prudent move that will help expand Covid vaccine access to more high risk patients at a time when the epidemic is worsening, and the vaccine can be an important backstop,” he tweeted Friday in response to Biden’s announcement. 

Updated: 2:15 p.m.