President Biden said on Friday that life may not return to normal in 2021 due to mutations in COVID-19 and possible interruptions in vaccine production in the United States.
Biden said at a Pfizer vaccine factory in Portage, Michigan that mutations in the virus and unforeseen blips in vaccine production could extend the social and economic effects of the pandemic.
“I believe that we will be approaching normality by the end of this year. God willing, this Christmas will be different from the previous one. But I cannot commit to you. There are other strains of the virus. We don’t know what can happen in terms of production rates. Things can change, ”said Biden.
The president spoke amid widespread optimism about a return to normal life, as infection rates drop and vulnerable groups of people are vaccinated.
He noted that some vaccine shipments were delayed by a snowstorm this week.
Biden said in Michigan that, in the meantime, “I think it is extremely important to take our kids back to school.” He faced criticism for not doing more to pressure the reluctant teacher unions to do so.
According to Bloomberg News’ public data analysis, the United States injected more than 59 million doses of vaccine – or 17.8 doses per 100 people.
The two vaccines approved in the USA, by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, require two injections, but are 95 percent and 94.1 percent effective. Both vaccines are being administered to people at a rate of 1.58 million doses per day, which should allow the United States to secure collective immunity this summer.
A single injection vaccine produced by Johnson & Johnson, which is at least 66 percent effective, is expected to further accelerate the vaccination schedule when it is approved by the Food and Drug Administration earlier this month.
Preliminary research indicates that vaccines are less effective against emerging and more contagious variations in COVID-19.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, for example, is 66 percent effective worldwide, but 72 percent effective in the United States, where there is less prevalence of mutations that have emerged in the UK, Brazil and South Africa.
A different vaccine being developed by Novavax is 60 percent effective in South Africa. In the United Kingdom, the same vaccine was 95.6 percent effective against the original variant and 85.6 percent effective against the UK variant.
Biden’s chief medical advisor, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said on Friday that the new variations of the virus mean that the government and companies “will have to be agile to readily adjust to make versions of the vaccine specifically targeted to any prevalent mutation. “.