Pfizer Said To Have Begun Exporting US-Made COVID-19 Vaccine

Pfizer Inc. PFE has started exporting COVID-19 vaccine doses produced in its U.S. plant to Mexico, Reuters reported Thursday, citing a person familiar with the matter.

What Happened: The shipment of vaccine doses from Pfizer’s Kalamazoo, Michigan plant to Mexico is the first export from the U.S. by the drugmaker after a restriction on dose exports by the former President Donald Trump's administration expired at the end of March, as per the Reuters report.

Pfizer has emerged as the largest supplier of COVID-19 vaccines to Mexico after it shipped more than 10 million doses to the nation so far, the report noted. Mexico has received more than a million doses from Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech SE’s BNTX Belgium plant since Wednesday.

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Pfizer will use extra capacity at its U.S. facilities to deliver vaccines abroad even as it continues to meet its commitment to supply 300 million doses to the U.S. by the end of July, Reuters added.

Why It Matters: The U.S. government has been under mounting pressure to share its surplus vaccine stockpile with other countries that are struggling with a surge in coronavirus cases. The U.S. vaccination campaign is already among the most successful in the world.

White House senior COVID-19 adviser Andy Slavitt said on Monday that the U.S. will share up to 60 million doses of AstraZeneca Plc’s AZN COVID-19 vaccine doses with other countries as they become available.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not yet authorized the AstraZeneca vaccine for use in the U.S.

The U.S. may only briefly, or never, need the AstraZeneca doses if they are cleared for emergency use as three other vaccines, including that of Pfizer, are already authorized by the FDA.

In March, the Biden administration said it would send around 4 million Astra Zeneca vaccine doses to Canada and Mexico after a federal safety review.

Price Action: Pfizer shares closed 0.5% lower on Thursday at $38.60.

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