President Biden said Tuesday that the United States will now have enough COVID-19 vaccines for every adult “by the end of May” – and that the feds will begin a new program to vaccinate all teachers by the end of March.
The ambitious timeline – less than three months away – comes days after US health regulators approved a third vaccine, developed by Johnson & Johnson, that requires a single shot, rather than two.
The White House announced Tuesday that it will use the Defense Production Act to help fund a partnership between pharmaceutical companies Merck and Johnson & Johnson to produce the latter’s vaccine faster.
“We are now on the right track to having a sufficient amount of vaccine for every adult in America by the end of May,” Biden told the White House, noting that he had previously said the end of July.
“I am pleased to announce today, as a consequence of the intensified process that I have ordered, and I have just stressed that this country will have enough vaccine, I will say it again, for every adult in America by the end of May. ”
Meanwhile, Biden has announced the new teacher vaccination initiative, which will see the federal pharmacy vaccination program prioritize educators and child care workers.
“We want every educator, a member of the school staff [and] childcare worker to receive at least one blow by the end of March, ”said Biden.
The announcement comes after the White House was on the defensive last week over the fact that the president is not using his bully’s pulpit to harass reluctant teachers’ unions to bring educators back to classrooms. Research indicates a relatively low spread of the virus in schools, especially among younger children.
“Right now, a whole generation of young people is about to retire a year longer in their learning. Understand that you can ask millions of parents, “Biden told the White House. “This is a national imperative to bring our children back to class safely and as soon as possible.”
To facilitate the vaccination of teachers, “Starting next week and for a month, in March, we will use our federal pharmacy program to prioritize the vaccination of pre-K-12 educators and staff and child care workers. Throughout March, they will be able to register for an appointment at a pharmacy near them, “said Biden.
“I want to be very clear, not every educator will be able to get their appointment in the first week, but our goal is to do everything we can to help every educator get a shot this month, March.”
More than 15 percent of the U.S. population – and more than 20 percent of the adult population – received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the CDC.
The United States began vaccinating vulnerable adults in mid-December after a lengthy review by the Food and Drug Administration of a two-dose vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech that was approximately 95% effective in studies. The FDA quickly approved a second two-dose vaccine produced by Moderna.
Johnson & Johnson shooting was found to be 66% effective overall in preventing moderate to severe disease 28 days after vaccination and 85% effective in preventing severe disease.
But it requires only one shot and can be kept at higher temperatures, and health experts have warned against comparing separate studies and different points of the pandemic.