One year ago, Trump administration announced $1.5 billion agreement with Moderna for 100 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine

By

Dave Beaudoin

One year ago this week, President Donald Trump’s (R) administration, including the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Defense (DOD), announced a $1.5 billion agreement with Moderna Inc. to develop and deliver 100 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. This was the third vaccine deal announced last year.

Here are noteworthy events in the development of vaccines from last year:

  1. May 15, 2020: Trump announced the creation of Operation Warp Speed, an administration task force launched to help develop a COVID-19 vaccine. Trump named Moncef Slaoui as the task force’s chief scientist and U.S. Army General Gustave Perna as its chief operating officer.
  2. July 22: Pharmaceutical company Pfizer and biotechnology company BioNTech announced they had reached a $1.95 billion deal with the HHS and DOD to supply 100 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine to the federal government by the end of 2020.
  3. Aug. 4: The HHS and DOD announced a $2.1 billion deal with French pharmaceutical company Sanofi and British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline to supply 100 million doses of a vaccine for the United States.
  4. Aug. 11: The Trump administration announced a $1.5 billion agreement with Moderna to supply 100 million doses of a vaccine.
  5. Aug. 14: The HHS and DOD announced a partnership with healthcare company McKesson Corp. to help distribute a vaccine when one became available.
  6. Sept. 16: The Trump administration released its vaccine distribution strategy, including guidance for working with states, tribes, territories, and local public health programs to distribute a vaccine when it became available.
  7. Nov. 20: Pfizer announced it had applied for an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its vaccine.
  8. Nov. 30: Moderna announced it had also applied for an emergency use authorization from the FDA.
  9. Dec. 11: The FDA issued an emergency use authorization for Pfizer’s vaccine.
  10. Dec. 18: The FDA granted emergency use authorization to Moderna’s vaccine.

For a full timeline of federal activity in response to the pandemic, including major legislation, executive actions, and department policies under both the Trump and Biden administrations, click here. 

Additional reading:

Federal government responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020-2021

Documenting America’s Path to Recovery Email Updates