(Reuters) – The White House is building an inventory of AstraZeneca Plc’s COVID-19 vaccine doses that have been produced in the United States so that they can quickly be given to Americans if the vaccine is authorized by the U.S. health regulator, a top administration official said Friday.
AstraZeneca has produced doses in the United States of its COVID-19 vaccine, which has been authorized for use in the European Union and many countries but not by U.S. regulators. Reuters reported this week that U.S. officials told the EU not to expect shipments of the shot from the United States anytime soon.
“We have a small inventory of AstraZeneca so, if approved, we can get that inventory out to the American people,” White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeffrey Zients said in a Friday press call.
(Reporting by Carl O’Donnell; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
