US president Donald Trump's administration says it intends to make the COVID-19 vaccine free for almost all Americans, Voice of America reported.

Insurance companies are expected to cover the cost of vaccination for most Americans, a senior administration official told a briefing.

As for those who do not have insurance, the official noted: "Our role as the federal government is to ensure anyone who is vulnerable, cannot afford it and desires it gets it."  

The official said the vaccine, created with federal funding, will be first offered to the Americans and only then delivered to other countries.

"Our priorities are very clear. Let's take care of Americans first," the official said. 

"To the extent there is surplus, we have an interest in ensuring folks around the world are vaccinated," since the virus arrived through international travel, he noted. 

According to him, other countries are signing separate contracts to manufacture the vaccine elsewhere.

"In no way are we inhibiting through our contracts those vaccines from getting to others around the world," the official added. 

As part of Operation Warp Speed, the administration wants 300 million doses of the vaccine by January 2021. So far, the government has announced contracts worth over $ 3 billion to support the testing, production, and distribution of the vaccine. Congress allocated about $ 10 billion to create vaccines, develop treatment methods, and diagnose COVID-19.

During the development process, 14 vaccine candidates were selected from over 100 vaccines. The government said it will select the seven most promising ones for clinical trials.

"President Donald Trump's administration has already announced support for candidates produced by three companies: Moderna, which entered the first phase of the three-step clinical trial process in mid-March; Johnson & Johnson, which plans to start phase 1 testing this summer; and AstraZeneca, which is entering the final, large-scale testing phase this summer with a vaccine developed by the University of Oxford. The administration says this vaccine could be available as soon as October if it works," the source noted.