President biden
Joe BidenIntercept chief of staff: minimum wage was not “high priority” for Biden in relief from COVID-19 South Carolina Senate adds firing squad as an alternative method of execution Seth Harris, Obama’s former president, to serve as Biden’s labor consultant: MORE report dramatically changed expectations about vaccine supply and the country’s return path from the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday by announcing that there will be enough coronavirus vaccines for all American adults by the end of May.
On Wednesday, government officials described a process that seemed to surprise them by the speed with which it occurred. The previous goal for producing so much vaccine had been July.
They said it was not a decision taken lightly, but said it was guided by quick facts and events.
“We are not in the habit of making exaggerated promises and therefore, even several weeks ago, prior to Johnson & Johnson’s approval, the president was talking about postponing the date until the end of July,” senior White House aide on COVID-19, Andy Slavitt told reporters in response to a question from The Hill.
“This is really a story where there are no bad guys, there are only good actors here. Everyone got together and found ways to anticipate the schedule so that we can fully vaccinate Americans and put them in a very different place and in a very different part of the pandemic, ”said Slavitt.
The discovery came after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency use authorization for Johnson & Johnson’s single dose COVID-19 vaccine, marking the third approved coronavirus vaccine in the U.S.
Vaccine maker Merck, a competitor for Johnson & Johnson, then agreed to help manufacture the newly approved vaccine to double its capacity in the United States, a move brokered by the Biden White House.
When Biden took over on January 20, Johnson & Johnson was late and management did not think there would be enough vaccine available for all American adults by July or after.
Using the Defense Production Act, the Biden administration has allocated $ 100 million to expand drug manufacturing and convert a Merck facility into a factory.
The Department of Defense took on a logistical support function and Biden brought in new teams of specialists and manufacturers to increase production.
Everything went well on Saturday, when the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was approved by the FDA. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reviewed approval on Sunday when vaccines were packaged and shipped from Johnson & Johnson facilities.
On Monday, vaccines arrived at the US Post Office and FedEx centers for delivery on Tuesday, when the first Johnson & Johnson vaccines were administered to Americans.
With three vaccines approved and deliveries on the rise, the Biden government felt confident enough that the president would move the schedule dramatically, setting the milestone for May.
Biden has been cautious in his rhetoric and predictions about the virus, seeking to manage expectations for an American audience that has spent much of the year separated from friends and family and overwhelmed by stress and economic losses.
Public health experts describe the new goal as realistic, given the expected dose production already announced by three vaccine manufacturers and the new partnership between Johnson & Johnson and Merck.
Even when setting the May schedule for production on Tuesday, Biden was careful to specify a definitive point at which the country would return to normal.
“My hope is that by this time next year, we will be back to normal, and before that, my hope,” said Biden, noting that it depends on people being “smart” and understanding “that we can still have losses.”
The Biden government had already faced criticism for setting the bar too low with the initial goal of administering 1 million vaccines a day – a benchmark that was already being met by the Trump administration.
Slavitt acknowledged that the government is aware of the potential obstacles that could prevent them from reaching the new aggressive schedule.
“We have a good plan,” he said. “We are always concerned with everything, this is part of our ethics here – execution mentality means that we are constantly concerned … but we have global experts from manufacturing, the Department of Defense and companies, all very focused on this.”
Biden’s announcement came on the same day that governors of several red states, led by Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R), announced that they would suspend mask terms and reopen their savings entirely.
Biden attacked these events on Wednesday as government officials urged the public not to abandon caution at this crucial time.
“I think it’s a big mistake,” said Biden. “The last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking.”
Public health experts say the government’s timetable sets the country to vaccinate the general population during the summer, after focusing on priority groups and achieving collective immunity by autumn.
Still, the challenge of vaccinating enough Americans to achieve collective immunity is an important one and is not entirely under Biden’s control. The distribution and administration of vaccines depends largely on the states, as they receive doses from the manufacturers, although the Biden administration has partnered with the states to establish federal vaccination sites and add more vaccinators.
Currently, a significant portion of the United States’ population has no intention of getting vaccinated, according to research. Health experts believe that the United States needs to vaccinate about 80% of the population to achieve collective immunity, which would mean vaccinating essentially all American adults to achieve collective immunity in the fall, because children cannot yet get the vaccine.
“At the moment, demand has exceeded supply, but sooner or later the supply will be abundant and there will not be as much demand. And this is how we help to connect with the room of the American public that does not want to be vaccinated in any way, ”said Anand Parekh, chief medical advisor at the Center for Bipartisan Policy.
“Really, getting that last push to get collective immunity will require convincing many people who are hesitant to get a vaccine.”
Democrats are fully aware of the fact that their luck in 2022 – and potentially the Biden-Harris passage in 2024 – will depend on how Biden manages the twin crises he faces in controlling COVID-19 and restoring economic prosperity.
“I think that, as president, he needs to manage his own ambitions for what he would like to happen, but also to take into account that the country is really looking forward to returning to a certain sense of normality,” said Basil Smikle, Democratic strategist and speaker at Columbia University School of Public and International Relations. “The caveat is that, while there may be enough supply, the open question is whether our public health infrastructure can actually deliver the vaccine within the timeframe it would like.”
Gallup’s latest poll found that 67 percent of all voters approve of Biden’s response to the pandemic, a marked improvement over his predecessor, Donald Trump
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