Topline
Following a damning report Monday that the Trump administration turned down an opportunity to double its orders of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine, President Trump signed an executive order Tuesday telling pharmaceutical companies to prioritize Americans and threatening to put the U.S. at the front of the line through the Defense Production Act — though it's unclear whether the order will actually be effective.
US President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order giving priority to Americans to receive ... [+]
Key Facts
Trump signed the executive order, which was first reported Monday afternoon, at a White House “vaccine summit” on Tuesday.
The order does not directly increase vaccine production or order additional doses from Pfizer and Moderna (the two drugmakers whose candidates could be approved by regulators in the next two weeks), beyond the 200 million from the two companies already slated for U.S. distribution, which is enough to immunize 100 million people.
Trump said if there are any “problems” securing doses, he could invoke the Defense Production Act, a 70-year-old law that allows Trump to force private manufacturers to ramp up production and give the federal government priority on any orders it places — a strategy supported by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
If Trump uses the Defense Production Act to stop vaccine doses from being exported, he’d likely face legal battles to force drugmakers out of their contracts with other countries, law professor Lawrence Gostin told the Washington Post, and the maneuver could frustrate U.S. allies that have already ordered millions of vaccine doses.
Trump’s executive order comes after the Times reported Monday that his administration said no to ordering more Pfizer doses on top of the 100 million initially claimed by the United States, which could force the government to wait until as late as June for more Pfizer doses because other countries have lined up orders since then.
Crucial Quote
“If necessary, we’ll invoke the Defense Production Act, but we don’t think it will be necessary,” Trump said Tuesday.
Surprising Fact
Dr. Moncef Slaoui, chief science advisor for Trump’s Operation Warp Speed, did not appear to understand the president’s executive order when asked about it Tuesday. During an interview with George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America, Slaoui answered a question about how the order works by saying “frankly, I don’t know.”
What To Watch For
With 43 days left until President-elect Joe Biden takes office, much of the work of distributing the vaccine will fall on the next administration. It is not clear whether Trump plans on invoking the Defense Production Act or placing additional vaccine orders before then.
Key Background
The Food and Drug Administration is widely expected to issue an emergency use authorization for Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine candidate by this week, and Moderna’s vaccine could earn approval next week. After that, both vaccines will be distributed throughout the United States, and officials hope to immunize millions of people by the end of the year. Federal officials also have contracts with drugmakers like Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca, but it’s not clear when their vaccine candidates will make it through trials and approval.
Tangent
Trump has refused to accept his election loss and mounted a longshot legal effort to hold onto power, an obstinance that partly shaped Tuesday’s summit. When Trump thanked a litany of public officials involved in the vaccine effort by name, he left out Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease effort and the public face of his coronavirus response, who has agreed to serve as Biden’s chief medical advisor. The summit also didn’t appear to include members of Biden’s incoming administration, and when asked by a reporter about this absence, Trump launched into a conspiratorial rant about voter fraud and falsely claimed he won last month’s election.
Further Reading
Trump to sign order aimed at prioritizing Covid-19 vaccine shipment to Americans (CNN)
