President Biden said on Tuesday that the United States will have enough COVID-19 vaccines by the end of May to inoculate all American adults, two months ahead of schedule.
The announcement came at a time when government officials warned that the decline in coronavirus cases appears to be stagnating. This creates a sprint to vaccinate most Americans against COVID-19, while the coronavirus continues to attack communities across the country.
“There is light at the end of the tunnel,” said Biden at the White House, days after a third vaccine was authorized by federal regulators. “But we cannot let our guard down or assume that victory is inevitable.”
However, some states are doing just that, emphasizing the challenge for the government. Before Biden spoke, the governor of Texas, the second most populous state in the country after California, announced that he was lifting restrictions on the coronavirus. Mississippi did the same.
Although Biden previously said that vaccines are not needed to open schools, he emphasized that increasing vaccine supplies would help reopen more quickly, allowing states to prioritize inoculation of teachers and other staff. He said that all teachers and day care centers should receive at least one injection by the end of the month.
“It is a national imperative that we get our children back to the classroom safely and as quickly as possible,” he said.
The faster vaccination schedule is partly the result of a new agreement between Johnson & Johnson, whose vaccine was authorized for inoculations over the weekend, and Merck, which will also produce the vaccine in an unusual partnership between the two competing pharmaceutical companies .
“This is the kind of collaboration between companies that we saw during World War II,” said Biden, who has often likened the fight against the pandemic to a war effort.
Merck, based in New Jersey, will help Johnson & Johnson produce its COVID-19 vaccine.
(Seth Wenig / Associated Press)
Biden said that Johnson & Johnson’s factories would operate 24 hours a day and that he would invoke the Defense Production Act to ensure that Merck was able to refurbish its facilities to produce the vaccine. He praised the two companies for being “good corporate citizens”.
The increased supply of vaccines is providing a political boost for Biden, as well as resources to address public health challenges. He has faced criticism from Republicans for failing to push further to reopen schools, but some teacher unions have resisted demands to return to classrooms for security reasons.
Biden said teachers, school staff and daycare centers could start applying for vaccines at pharmacies starting next week. “We are going to treat personal learning as the essential service that it is,” he said.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, welcomed the announcement. “What a tremendous relief to have a president who is facing this moment of crisis,” she said. “Vaccination is a key ingredient for reopening schools safely.”
California has already given teachers priority to receive vaccines, and Governor Gavin Newsom has pledged to make at least 75,000 doses a week available to them starting this month.
The news comes when Americans were already starting to feel considerably more optimistic about the prospects for ending the pandemic. Republican research and political strategy firm Echelon Insights found that the proportion of Americans who think “the worst is yet to come” has dropped from 48% in January to 28% in their most recent poll. The share that said the “worst is over” rose to 36%, from 26% in January.
The proportion of Americans who say they plan to get vaccinated has increased in several recent surveys, especially among blacks, who are more hesitant. About a third of Republicans, however, continue to say that they will probably or definitely not be vaccinated, reflecting the politicization of the pandemic under former President Trump.
Accelerated vaccine production may also allow the United States to start exporting supplies sooner than expected, something it has pledged to do when there is enough for all Americans. International leaders and public health organizations have criticized rich nations, accusing them of accumulating doses while poor nations struggle to obtain vaccines.
The increase in global inoculations would help to limit the emergence of variants of COVID-19 that are more easily transmitted and less responsive to vaccines. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a promising candidate for worldwide distribution because it requires only one dose and does not need to be stored in deep-frozen temperatures or in freezers, like the versions created by Pfizer and Moderna.
The agreement between Merck and Johnson & Johnson is not the first partnership between pharmaceutical companies during the pandemic, but it is more complex. Most collaborations involve only what is called part of the “filling and finishing” process, where vaccines are packaged for distribution. Merck will be producing the vaccines.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott announces that he is ending the term of the state mask and limits on how many people can be inside companies.
(Justin Rex / Associated Press)
Prashant Yadav, senior researcher at the Center for Global Development who focuses on health supply chains, said this is unusual, given the sensitive scientific information that must be shared.
“Anyone in this industry would say that it is not impossible, but it is generally something that we consider unprecedented,” he said.
John Grabenstein, Merck’s former global chief medical officer for vaccines, said that preparing the company’s facilities to produce more doses is a complicated process.
“It’s not like, ‘Can I get your car keys?’ or ‘Can I borrow your oven for the sale of cakes?’ ”, He said in an interview. “These are highly sophisticated and complex activities.”
For example, Merck equipment will need to be thoroughly cleaned and inspected before the Johnson & Johnson vaccine can be formulated.
Biden warned the country that “this fight is far from over” and urged Americans to continue to follow the guidelines on wearing masks and social detachment. His comments came shortly after Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that he was suspending his state’s mandate to wear masks and allow businesses and restaurants to return to full capacity.
“Texas now has the tools to protect Texans from the virus,” said Abbott. “Now we must do more to restore Texans’ livelihood and normalcy by opening Texas 100%.”
The decision was against a recent warning from Rochelle Walensky, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that the national decline in the number of COVID-19 cases appeared to be stalling. The country had an average of 50,000 people hospitalized and almost 2,000 deaths per day in the past week.
“At this level of cases, with the variants spreading, we can completely lose the ground we have gained with so much effort,” said Walensky. “These variants are a very real threat to our people and our progress.”
The team’s editor, David Lauter, contributed to this report.