President Biden said Wednesday that the U.S. government is buying another 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from Johnson & Johnson to ensure maximum flexibility to end the pandemic.
The single doses are not expected to arrive until May after the US has enough vaccine supplies for all residents, but Biden said he wants more shots to protect against unforeseen problems.
“I do this because we need maximum flexibility in this time of war,” Biden said during an event in the White House to announce the purchase.
‘There is always a chance that we will experience unexpected challenges or wants – there will be a new need for a vaccination or vaccination effort. A lot can happen. Many can change. And we must be prepared. ”
The recently approved Johnson-Johnson vaccine requires a single shot, as opposed to the approved dual-dose vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna.
The Johnson & Johnson shot is generally 66 percent effective in preventing moderate to severe disease 28 days after vaccination, and 85 percent effective in preventing serious illness.
The US has already ordered 300 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna – enough for 300 million people, or just about all Americans – as well as 100 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine.
Biden said the U.S. will eventually help other countries with the distribution of vaccines if there are more vaccine doses than are needed domestically.
‘It can not be stopped by a fence – no matter how high you build a fence or wall. So in the end we will not be safe until the world is safe, ”Biden said.
“And so we’re going to make sure Americans are taken care of first. But then we will try to help the rest of the world. ”
Johnson & Johnson struggled with the initial production rate for vaccine after approval by the Food and Drug Administration last month – which the government is providing just four million doses of 20 million planned this month. The company is working with Merck and Emergent BioSolutions to produce more doses and is reportedly expected to complete the initial dose order of $ 100 million in June.
Biden was scheduled to speak at an Emergent facility in Baltimore, Maryland, on Wednesday, but his speech was quickly moved after a Sunday report slammed Emergent’s role in the government’s aggressive pressure to buy an anthrax vaccine. which does not do much more than cheap antibiotics to improve the patient’s results.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Strategic National Stock spent 40 percent of its funds on the anthrax vaccine in 2010-2018, rather than on masks, gowns, and other stocks that were deficient in COVID-19, resulting in had nurses carry trash cans.
Nearly 19 percent of the U.S. population has received at least one vaccine dose and according to the CDC, about 10 percent have been completely vaccinated.
U.S. states began vaccinating vulnerable adults in mid-December after a lengthy FDA review period of the vaccine from Pfizer and partner BioNTech, which was about 95 percent effective in trials. The FDA quickly approved a second two-dose vaccine manufactured by Moderna with similar efficacy.