President Biden
Joe Biden, head of the interception bureau: minimum wage was not a ‘high priority’ for Biden in the COVID-19 relief in the South Carolina Senate, adding a firing squad as an alternative method of execution. expectations regarding vaccine supply and the course of the country’s return from the coronavirus pandemic have changed dramatically, announced on Tuesday that there will be enough coronavirus vaccines by the end of May for all U.S. adults.
Government officials on Wednesday described a process that seems to surprise them at how quickly it came together. The previous target for producing so much vaccine was July.
They said it was not a decision taken lightly, but said it was led by facts and fast-moving events.
“We do not have the habit of being hampered too much, which is why the President even a few weeks ago, before the time of Johnson & Johnson’s approval, talked about raising the date to the end of July,” he said. said White House senior adviser. on COVID-19 Andy Slavitt told reporters in response to a question from The Hill.
‘It’s really a story where there are no bad guys, but here are just good actors. “Everyone has come together and found ways to bring the timeline forward so that we can fully vaccinate Americans and in a very different place and a very different part of the pandemic,” Slavitt said.
The breakthrough comes after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency use approval for the single-dose COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson, which is the third approved coronavirus vaccine in the US.
Vaccine manufacturer Merck, a rival of Johnson & Johnson, then agreed to help manufacture the newly approved vaccine to double its U.S. capacity, a move marketed by the Biden White House.
When Biden took over on January 20, Johnson & Johnson was left behind and the government did not think there would be enough vaccination available for all American adults until July or later.
Under the Defense Production Act, the Biden administration has allocated $ 100 million to expand drug manufacturing and convert a Merck facility into a manufacturing plant.
The Department of Defense has taken on a logistical support role, and Biden has deployed new teams of experts and manufacturers to increase production.
Everything clicked into place on Saturday when the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was approved by the FDA. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reviewed the approval Sunday when the vaccines were first packaged and shipped from Johnson & Johnson facilities.
On Monday, the vaccines arrived at the US Postal Service and FedEx hubs for delivery on Tuesday, when the first Johnson & Johnson vaccines were administered to Americans.
With three approved vaccines and deliveries, Biden’s government has had enough confidence to make the president dramatically move the timeline and put the point for May.
Biden was cautious in his rhetoric and predictions about the virus, and tried to manage the expectations of an American public that had been separated from friends and family for most of a year and burdened by economic tension and loss.
Public health experts describe the new target as realistic, given the expected dose production already announced by three vaccine manufacturers and the new partnership between Johnson & Johnson and Merck.
Although he set the May timeline for production on Tuesday, Biden was careful to give a definite point at which the country would become normal.
“My hope is that by this time we will be normal again next year, and before that, my hope,” Biden said. He noted that it depends on the fact that people are “smart” and understand that we can still be significant losses. ”
The Biden government has been criticized in the past for setting the standard too low with the initial goal of administering 1 million vaccines a day – a standard already achieved by the Trump administration.
Slavitt acknowledged that the government was aware of possible obstacles that could prevent it from reaching the aggressive new timeline.
“We have a good plan,” he said. “We’re always worried about everything, it’s part of our ethics here – execution mentality means we’re constantly worried … but we have world experts in manufacturing, the Department of Defense and the companies that are all focused on it.”
Biden’s announcement comes on the same day that governors in several red states, led by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), have announced that they will lift mask mandates and reopen their economies.
Biden on Wednesday challenged the developments because administration officials urged the public not to be cautious at this crucial moment.
“I think it’s a big mistake,” Biden said. “The last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking.”
Public health experts say the timeline outlined by the administration enables the country to vaccinate the general population during the summer, after focusing on priority groups and to achieve herd immunity by the fall.
Yet the challenge of vaccinating enough Americans to achieve herd immunity is important and not entirely within Biden’s control. The distribution and administration of vaccines is largely dependent on states once they receive doses from the manufacturers, but the Biden government has stepped in to work with states to set up federal vaccination sites and add more vaccinations.
According to surveys, a significant portion of the U.S. population is not currently planning to be vaccinated. Health experts estimate that the U.S. needs to vaccinate about 80 percent of the population to achieve herd immunity, which means that in fact, all U.S. adults need to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity by fall, because children cannot yet receive the vaccine.
‘At the moment the demand is greater than the supply, but sooner or later the supply will be plentiful and there will not be as much demand. And then this is how we can help the quarter of the American public who do not want to be vaccinated at all, ‘said Anand Parekh, chief medical adviser to the Bipartisan Policy Center.
“To really get the last push to get herd immunity will have to convince a lot of people who are reluctant to get a vaccine.”
Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Diseases Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said the new coronavirus variants also pose an immediate challenge to the Biden administration’s vaccination strategy. He said the government should try to maximize vaccine doses for the elderly population before the British tribe becomes dominant in the US
“The long-term management was excellent,” said Osterholm, who served on Biden’s COVID-19 advisory board during the transition. “I think short-term management is still a big challenge.”
Democrats are well aware that their fates in 2022 ‚and possibly the Biden-Harris ticket in 2024 – will indicate how Biden manages the twin crises he faces by controlling COVID-19 and restoring economic prosperity.
“I think as president he has to manage his own ambitions for what he wants to happen, but also take into account that the country is really eager to get some normalcy back,” said Basil Smikle, a Democratic strategist. said and is a lecturer at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. “The caveat is that while there is enough stock, the open question is whether our public health infrastructure can deliver the vaccine on the timeline it would like.”
The latest Gallup poll found that 67 percent of all voters approve of Biden’s response to the pandemic, a clear improvement over its predecessor, Donald Trump
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