Pfizer and Moderna executives told Congress on Tuesday that they plan to double the rate of production next month. Pfizer plans to produce 13 million doses per week by mid-March, while Moderna expects to produce 40 million doses per month. (CNBC Weekly)
Latin American government officials have accused Pfizer of “bullying” them during negotiations for its COVID-19 vaccine. They say Pfizer held countries to “ransom” by asking them to put up sovereign assets to protect against the cost of future legal cases in order to access the vaccine. (STAT)
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra appeared before a Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday for his nomination to head the Department of Health and Human Services. If confirmed, Becerra would be the first Latino to head the agency. (NBC News)
A COVID-19 variant found in California is more contagious than previous forms of the virus, new research shows. Experts fear contagious new strains like this one could reverse declining case counts across the state and country. (The New York Times)
China-based COVID-19 vaccine developer Clover Biopharmaceuticals has raised $230 million in a Series C round of funding to expand its pipeline. Clover plans to focus on COVID-19 variant vaccines as well as cancer therapies. (Endpoints News)
