That could include building new plants or production lines, and it might require licensing technology from other vaccine manufacturers.
“This is about assuring expanded capacity against Covid variants and also preparing for the next pandemic,” Dr. Kessler said in an interview. “The goal, in the case of a future pandemic, a future virus, is to have vaccine capability within six to nine months of identification of that pandemic pathogen, and to have enough vaccines for all Americans.”
Dr. Kessler and Mr. Zients conceded the plan is not fully fleshed out; the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Agency on Wednesday issued a request for ideas from industry. The price tag is unknown; Dr. Kessler estimated it at several billion, with the money coming from the American Rescue Plan, the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package Mr. Biden signed into law earlier this year.
Mr. Zients said the government was looking to move quickly, and wanted responses from industry within 30 days. The potential partners appear to be limited; only two major vaccine makers — Pfizer and Moderna — are currently using mRNA technology, although those companies employ contract manufacturers to do the work for them.
The Coronavirus Pandemic: Latest Updates
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In a statement on Wednesday, Pfizer commended the administration and pledged to “come to the table with how we can best contribute” to the fight against Covid-19. Officials at Moderna did not respond to an email message seeking comment. But Steve Brozak, an investment banker whose company, WBB Securities, specializes in biotechnology, said engaging industry could prove difficult.
“Without a specific commitment of money, without a specific time plan, companies may not be interested,” Mr. Brozak said. If the administration wants to ramp up vaccine manufacturing, he added, it will also have to increase production of resins and other vaccine components.
Reaction to the plan was mixed, especially among activists who have been pushing the Biden administration to lean on Pfizer and Moderna to share their technology with manufacturers overseas. (The National Institutes of Health is in a patent dispute with Moderna, which received billions in taxpayer funding, over who deserves credit for inventing the central component of the company’s coronavirus vaccine.)