US reaches deal with Moderna for omicron COVID-19 vaccine

By ZEKE MILLER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration says it has reached an agreement with Moderna to buy 66 million doses of the company’s next generation of COVID-19 vaccine targeting the highly transmissible omicron variant. The administration says that’s enough for this winter for all who want the upgraded booster. Friday’s announcement follows word last month that the federal government has secured 105 million doses of a similar vaccine from rival drugmaker Pfizer. Both orders are scheduled for delivery in the fall and winter, assuming regulators sign off. The omicron strain has been dominant in the U.S. since December, with the BA.5 subvariant causing a massive wave of infections, even infecting President Joe Biden.