The Hill: Trump to order government to vaccinate Americans first
“President Trump will sign an executive order on Tuesday affirming that Americans should receive coronavirus vaccines before any are distributed to other nations. Trump will sign the order during a White House summit on Operation Warp Speed, the public-private program aimed at accelerating the delivery of a vaccine for COVID-19. … The executive order also lays out a framework for U.S. government agencies to coordinate in order to assist foreign countries in getting immunizations after the American public is vaccinated, according to the official. … Vaccines are not expected to be available to the general public until the spring at the earliest…” (Chalfant, 12/7).

New York Times: Trump administration officials passed when Pfizer offered months ago to sell the U.S. more vaccine doses
“Before Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine was proved highly successful in clinical trials last month, the company offered the Trump administration the chance to lock in supplies beyond the 100 million doses the pharmaceutical maker agreed to sell the government as part of a $1.95 billion deal months ago. But the administration, according to people familiar with the talks, never made the deal, a choice that now raises questions about whether the United States allowed other countries to take its place in line. As the administration scrambles to try to purchase more doses of the vaccine, President Trump plans on Tuesday to issue an executive order that proclaims that other nations will not get the U.S. supplies of its vaccine until Americans have been inoculated. But the order appears to have no real teeth and does not expand the U.S. supply of doses, according to a description of the order on Monday by senior administration officials…” (LaFraniere et al., 12/7).

STAT: Leading Covid-19 vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna decline invitations to White House ‘Vaccine Summit’
“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 Tuesday, according to two sources familiar with the event’s planning. … The vaccine manufacturers’ absences will be conspicuous at a ‘Vaccine Summit,’ an event that drug industry figures and one Trump administration official largely viewed as a public relations stunt when STAT first reported the event last week…” (Facher, 12/7).

Washington Post: Pfizer tells U.S. officials it cannot supply substantial additional vaccine until late June or July
“Pfizer has told the Trump administration it cannot provide substantial additional doses of its coronavirus vaccine until late June or July because other countries have rushed to buy up most of its supply, according to multiple individuals familiar with the situation. … Trump administration officials denied there would be availability issues in the second quarter, citing other vaccines in the pipeline — most immediately, Moderna’s, also expected to be approved in coming weeks. Both vaccines are two-dose regimens, so the 100 million doses purchased of each would cover 50 million people each…” (McGinley et al., 12/8).

Additional coverage of the vaccine meeting is available from The Hill. Trump’s address at the event will be streamed on YouTube.