In late summer, Pfizer gave the Trump Administration an opportunity to purchase and prioritize the distribution of a promising vaccine, but now-lame duck president Donald Trump turned down the offer, a move that will delay the distribution of the Pfizer vaccine in the United States by months, the New York Times reports.

While Trump was boasting that vaccines might be distributed by Election Day in a transparent ploy to win a second term, he and his administration had made the decision to decline Pfizer’s offer.  The drug maker took orders from other countries in the meantime, putting them ahead of the fulfillment list.

Trump is now scrambling to essentially confiscate any doses of the vaccine Pfizer may manufacturer in the United States by using an executive order that would mandate any US manufacturer fill American needs before they ship vaccines overseas.  Such an executive order would likely be struck down in court, experts believe.

The Trump administration contracted with Pfizer for 100 million doses, enough for 50 million people, in the initial production run.

Britain plans to start a mass inoculation program on Tuesday, and member of the European Union will get 200 million doses in a deal negotiated over the summer that provides them the option to get 100 million more.

Pfizer doesn’t believe it can produce enough vaccines to satisfy US demand until June 2021, months after European countries will get hundreds of millions of doses.  The Pfizer vaccine requires each person to get two doses to maximize potential immunity.