Some states want to buy their own vaccines. Biden administration says no.

The Biden administration is rejecting calls from some states to buy COVID-19 vaccine doses directly from Pfizer, as governors hunt for ways to supplement their limited supply of shots.

The divide on that question counts among the early pandemic challenges facing the 46th president, as his team tackles a nationwide vaccine effort that has progressed unevenly in the face of overwhelming demand.

"We need to have a national approach to vaccinations, and must ensure states aren't competing against each other like they did with PPE, ventilators, and tests," spokesperson T.J. Ducklo said in a statement.

This week, New York joined a handful of states pursuing the idea of buying doses beyond the supply rationed out by the federal government. New York City's mayor warned Tuesday that vaccination sites in the city were on track to run out of doses this week, with appointments being canceled for thousands of people hoping to be immunized.

"Because you are not bound by commitments that Moderna made as part of Operation Warp Speed, I am requesting that the State of New York be permitted to directly purchase doses from you," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, wrote in a letter to Pfizer's CEO.

But the pharmaceutical manufacturer was quick to shoot down the request, with a spokesperson saying the company would need permission from federal authorities to sell doses directly to states under the Food and Drug Administration's emergency use authorization for their vaccine. ...