another $5 billion to Pfizer from US gov?

Pfizer is likely to receive almost $5 billion from a $10 billion pandemic funding bill being considered by lawmakers, Bloomberg reports. Officials told the news outlet that the U.S. government owes Pfizer $5 billion for 10 million courses of the company's antiviral pills it ordered in January when the omicron variant was at its height.  "We continue to collaborate with the U.S. government to help broaden patient access to Paxlovid, and we are confident that the administration will fulfill its purchasing commitments," a Pfizer spokesperson told Bloomberg in a statement. However, Republicans in the Senate on Tuesday blocked the measure from moving forward, declining to throw their support behind the bipartisan deal unless Democratic leaders allowed a vote on an immigration-related amendment. The White House wanted $22.5 billion for COVID-19 relief. "The bill is a start," White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said on Tuesday during a press conference. "Congress must keep working to immediately provide additional funding for our remaining domestic needs." https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/pfizer-covid-bill-coronavirus/2022/04/06/id/1064556/