Biden says will have enough COVID-19 vaccine for every U.S. adult by May

[webfact]

Biden says will have enough COVID-19 vaccine for every U.S. adult by May

By Nandita Bose and Michael Erman

 

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about the administration's response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic at the White House in Washington, U.S., March 2, 2021. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

 

(Reuters) - The United States will have enough COVID-19 vaccine for every American adult by the end of May, President Joe Biden said on Tuesday after Merck & Co agreed to make rival Johnson & Johnson's inoculation.

 

The partnership between drug makers, as well as other steps the government is taking to assist J&J, will allow the company to accelerate delivery of 100 million vaccine doses by around a month, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

 

"One of the things that I learned when I came into office was that Johnson & Johnson was behind in manufacturing and production," Biden said. "It simply wasn't coming fast enough. So my team has been hard at work to accelerate that effort."

 

He said the U.S. government had invoked the Defense Production Act to help equip two Merck plants to make the J&J vaccine.

 

Biden also said plants already making J&J's vaccine would step up their output, producing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

 

These actions will ultimately double J&J’s U.S. ability to produce vaccines and increase its fill-finish capacity, where the product is put into vials and readied for shipping, HHS said.

 

"We expect this manufacturing arrangement will enhance our production capacity so that we can supply beyond our current commitments," J&J said in a statement.

 

Biden said he hoped that the United States would be "back to normal" at this time next year, potentially earlier.

 

"It depends upon if people continue, continue to be smart and understand that we still can have significant losses," he said.

 

Merck chief marketing officer Mike Nally said that his company was waiting on specialized equipment to begin producing the vaccine, but that the plant where it will finish J&J's vaccine and put it into vials could be operating within a few months.

 

"That production capacity won't yield doses most likely until the second half of this year, towards the end of the year," Nally said in an interview, explaining that there is a longer lead time for the equipment needed to make the drug substance.

 

Nally did not say how many doses Merck would be able to produce for J&J. He said Merck was using half the production capacity it would have used to make a billion doses of its own vaccines, but noted that every vaccine technology has distinctive production characteristics.

 

An increased supply of the J&J vaccine sooner would speed the U.S. vaccination effort considerably, because you can inoculate twice as many people with the same number of shots. The other two U.S.-authorized vaccines produced by Pfizer Inc with partner BioNTech and Moderna Inc both require two shots a few weeks apart.

 

Under its contract, J&J was supposed to deliver 12 million doses by the end of February, but had less than 4 million ready to ship when the vaccine was authorized on Saturday.

 

It expects to be able to deliver another 16 million doses by the end of this month - still well short of its previous commitments - but will not ship any next week. The next shipments are waiting on regulatory approval of new manufacturing operations run by its partner, contract drugmaker Catalent Inc.

 

Merck said on Tuesday it will also receive up to $268.8 million from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a U.S. agency charged with developing drugs and vaccines. The funding is intended to help it to adapt and make available a number of its plants for COVID-19 vaccine and medicine production.

 

The partnership is the latest example of large drugmakers working together to help produce COVID-19 vaccines to meet global demand. Swiss drugmaker Novartis signed an agreement in January to fill vials for the Pfizer/BioNTech shot, while French drugmaker Sanofi SA will help fill and pack millions of doses of Pfizer's vaccine starting in July.

 

(Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru, Michael Erman in New York, Nandita Bose, Steve Holland and Susan Heavey in Washington; Editing by Caroline Humer, Jonathan Oatis, Bill Berkrot and Gerry Doyle)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-03-03

 

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[TallGuyJohninBKK]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Biden said he hoped that the United States would be "back to normal" at this time next year, potentially earlier.

 

"It depends upon if people continue, continue to be smart and understand that we still can have significant losses," he said.

 

Depends on if people continue to be smart?  Don't count on it in some parts of the U.S., for example, on the same day:

 

Texas governor lifts mask mandate and allows businesses to open at 100% capacity, despite health officials' warnings

 

(CNN)Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday he's lifting the mask mandate in Texas, even as health officials warn not to ease safety restrictions.

...

Abbott made the announcement during a Lubbock Chamber of Commerce event where he issued an executive order rescinding most of his earlier executive orders like the mask mandate.

...

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves also announced Tuesday the end to all county mask mandates and that businesses can reopen at 100% capacity. The new orders will go into effect Wednesday, Tate said.

 

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/02/us/texas-governor-mask-mandate/index.html

 

VS.

 

"It's too soon, health experts say. After the number of new cases declined from unprecedented highs recently, the downturn appears to have stagnated at a high level -- seven-day average case levels are as high as they were last summer. And more transmissible variants are spreading.

 

"This is not a time to relax restrictions -- especially the governors who are all high-fiving themselves saying we're out of this. We're not," said Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children's Hospital.

 

The country is at risk of losing "the hard-earned ground we have gained" in the battle against Covid-19 as highly contagious variants take advantage of Americans getting lax with safety measures, said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

 

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/02/health/us-coronavirus-tuesday/index.html

 

[Tug]

Great news let’s hope people take advantage of it.I understand the pressure to get the economy rolling again but at the same time looks like some governors are determined to jump the gun thus prolonging this scourge sad let’s hope their citizens have more sense!

[LNKDES1]

I am a U.S. retired adult living overseas, and I have not heard one word regarding vaccine injections for U.S. citizens. It must be too much of an imposition for our Embassy staff to make time out of their oh so busy schedules and offer vaccines to their citizens here in Thailand. It would seem that the Johnson & Johnson, single dose, vaccine would be perfect for those U.S. citizens that not only live in any of the major cities, where they could do outreach programs, for those that live in outlying areas as well. If you're an anti-vaxer, fine, don't participate. Personally, I'd welcome the opportunity to be able to get on a plane some day and go visit my family back in the States. Come on U.S. Embassy, represent your citizens.

[Credo]

1 hour ago, LNKDES1 said:

I am a U.S. retired adult living overseas, and I have not heard one word regarding vaccine injections for U.S. citizens. It must be too much of an imposition for our Embassy staff to make time out of their oh so busy schedules and offer vaccines to their citizens here in Thailand. It would seem that the Johnson & Johnson, single dose, vaccine would be perfect for those U.S. citizens that not only live in any of the major cities, where they could do outreach programs, for those that live in outlying areas as well. If you're an anti-vaxer, fine, don't participate. Personally, I'd welcome the opportunity to be able to get on a plane some day and go visit my family back in the States. Come on U.S. Embassy, represent your citizens.

Embassies are not medical facilities and they are not equipped to perform any medical procedures.   Ever.  You can't get a tooth filled or your eyes checked at the embassy.   

If they were to run some sort of outreach to citizens, they would quickly run afoul of a whole lot of local laws and rules.  

If you want the shot, either wait for Thailand to give it or return and get one.   

 

[rickudon]

What will they do with the doses not used by the anti-vaxxers? Just leave them on a shelf until they expire?

[pegman]

5 hours ago, rickudon said:

What will they do with the doses not used by the anti-vaxxers? Just leave them on a shelf until they expire?

They should send them to their northern neighbour as we are running short. You have to admire the job Biden has done to clean up the utter mess he was left. Well done Joe. 

[Jeffr2]

Great news. Let's hope the Republican governors opening up now don't screw things up, again.

[tonray]

11 hours ago, LNKDES1 said:

I am a U.S. retired adult living overseas, and I have not heard one word regarding vaccine injections for U.S. citizens. It must be too much of an imposition for our Embassy staff to make time out of their oh so busy schedules and offer vaccines to their citizens here in Thailand. It would seem that the Johnson & Johnson, single dose, vaccine would be perfect for those U.S. citizens that not only live in any of the major cities, where they could do outreach programs, for those that live in outlying areas as well. If you're an anti-vaxer, fine, don't participate. Personally, I'd welcome the opportunity to be able to get on a plane some day and go visit my family back in the States. Come on U.S. Embassy, represent your citizens.

The US  Embassy couldn't care less about expat vaccinations. We are not at risk of infecting the  population whilst we stay overseas. The logistics of getting vaccines to expats overseas would be daunting. Take respsonsibility for one's self and be thankful you are in a country where infection is a very low probability.

[LNKDES1]

8 minutes ago, tonray said:

The US  Embassy couldn't care less about expat vaccinations. We are not at risk of infecting the  population whilst we stay overseas. The logistics of getting vaccines to expats overseas would be daunting. Take respsonsibility for one's self and be thankful you are in a country where infection is a very low probability.

Let me ask you this then. Do you think the Embassy staff will be vaccinated by the U.S. government? I agree with you. The U.S. Embassy couldn't care less about expat vaccinations, or expats in general.

[Jeffr2]

3 minutes ago, LNKDES1 said:

Let me ask you this then. Do you think the Embassy staff will be vaccinated by the U.S. government? I agree with you. The U.S. Embassy couldn't care less about expat vaccinations, or expats in general.

You've obviously never dealt with the embassy staff. They are fantastic. Don't spread misinformation.

[LomSak27]

 

11 hours ago, LNKDES1 said:

I am a U.S. retired adult living overseas, and I have not heard one word regarding vaccine injections for U.S. citizens.

 

Do you think Thailand is going to allow that  ????   Now back to bellyaching how the embassy should be an expat assisted care medical facility. 

[tonray]

6 minutes ago, LNKDES1 said:

Let me ask you this then. Do you think the Embassy staff will be vaccinated by the U.S. government? I agree with you. The U.S. Embassy couldn't care less about expat vaccinations, or expats in general.

I would suppose that American embassy staff would be vaccinated, but the majority of support staff are Thai and would likely have to wait for their own Thai vaccinations. The numbers would be staggering for expat vaccinations Where an existing doctor and nurse staff could handle American staff...you would need an entire team and approrpiate emergency protocols for allergies, etc to handle several humndred thousand expats.

[LNKDES1]

12 minutes ago, tonray said:

I would suppose that American embassy staff would be vaccinated, but the majority of support staff are Thai and would likely have to wait for their own Thai vaccinations. The numbers would be staggering for expat vaccinations Where an existing doctor and nurse staff could handle American staff...you would need an entire team and approrpiate emergency protocols for allergies, etc to handle several humndred thousand expats.

Several hundred thousand U.S. expats? I wouldn't think there are anywhere near 100K U.S. expats residing residing full time here. And out of those, how many would be anti-vaxers. 

[tonray]

6 minutes ago, LNKDES1 said:

Several hundred thousand U.S. expats? I wouldn't think there are anywhere near 100K U.S. expats residing residing full time here. And out of those, how many would be anti-vaxers. 

You're right...I don't know the numbers...but vaccinating even more than a few thousand would be a huge task...forget it....what's the big deal anyway...Thailand will provide opportunity for vaccine soon enough. Relax...stop stressing out like an American in America....Sabai Sabai...isn;t that why you came to Thailand ?

 

According to WIKI there are about 40,000 Americans in Thailand 

[Peter Denis]

50 minutes ago, Jeffr2 said:

Great news. Let's hope the Republican governors opening up now don't screw things up, again.

Are you implying that Ron DeSantis' approach to covid in his home-state Florida was incorrect?  Yes, he certainly went 'against the stream' by withdrawing all crazy and ineffective measures to curb the spread.  And the data prove him right!

I don't care if he is Republican or Democrat, sanity is not defined by political party lines.

[Jeffr2]

Just now, Peter Denis said:

Are you implying that Ron DeSantis' approach to covid in his home-state Florida was incorrect?  Yes, he certainly went 'against the stream' by withdrawing all crazy and ineffective measures to curb the spread.  And the data prove him right!

I don't care if he is Republican or Democrat, sanity is not defined by political party lines.

The data proves that masks work. Sadly, Republicans are spreading misinformation about this as they pander to Trump's base. It's purely political. Sad that so many fall for it.

[LomSak27]

 

 

 

20 hours ago, webfact said:

The United States will have enough COVID-19 vaccine for every American adult by the end of May, President Joe Biden said on Tuesday after Merck & Co agreed to make rival Johnson & Johnson's inoculation."One of the things that I learned when I came into office was that Johnson & Johnson was behind in manufacturing and production," Biden said. "It simply wasn't coming fast enough. So my team has been hard at work to accelerate that effort." He said the U.S. government had invoked the Defense Production Act to help equip two Merck plants to make the J&J vaccine.

 

After a year of Incompetence, it is nice to see things rolling. As the US will have vaccinated their entire population by May. Perhaps Minister Anutin might look into buying and ramp up Thailand's vaccination schedule. Better get ready for those tourists TAT is saying will be back in the fourth quarter.    

[ShindenGo]

11 minutes ago, LomSak27 said:

 

 

 

 

After a year of Incompetence, it is nice to see things rolling. As the US will have vaccinated their entire population by May. Perhaps Minister Anutin might look into buying and ramp up Thailand's vaccination schedule. Better get ready for those tourists TAT is saying will be back in the fourth quarter.    

Imagine that a capable leader like Biden who has been serving the American people for half a century will be able to end the pandemic faster than Trump. 

[Scott]

I think it's time to get back on topic.  The US will not be providing vaccinations for US citizens living abroad:

As part of our efforts to give U.S. citizens timely information so that they can make informed choices about travel abroad, the Department advises that the United States Government does not plan to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to private U.S. citizens overseas.  U.S. citizens traveling or residing overseas should follow host country developments and guidelines for COVID-19 vaccination.

 

https://eg.usembassy.gov/covid-19-vaccinations-and-consular-issues/

 

 

[LNKDES1]

52 minutes ago, tonray said:

You're right...I don't know the numbers...but vaccinating even more than a few thousand would be a huge task...forget it....what's the big deal anyway...Thailand will provide opportunity for vaccine soon enough. Relax...stop stressing out like an American in America....Sabai Sabai...isn;t that why you came to Thailand ?

 

According to WIKI there are about 40,000 Americans in Thailand 

Sorry, didn't mean to come across as stressing. Maybe too much coffee this morning. That 40K number sounds more like it. Possibly 25-30K after you take out the anti-vaxers. Guess I'm just not comfortable with the Sinovac or Sputnik vaccines yet. If you get a chance, here's a short article by Peter Zeihan, a geopoliticist regarding world vaccinations.  https://zeihan.com/the-ins-and-outs-of-vaccine-diplomacy/

[Eric Loh]

13 hours ago, LNKDES1 said:

I am a U.S. retired adult living overseas, and I have not heard one word regarding vaccine injections for U.S. citizens. It must be too much of an imposition for our Embassy staff to make time out of their oh so busy schedules and offer vaccines to their citizens here in Thailand. It would seem that the Johnson & Johnson, single dose, vaccine would be perfect for those U.S. citizens that not only live in any of the major cities, where they could do outreach programs, for those that live in outlying areas as well. If you're an anti-vaxer, fine, don't participate. Personally, I'd welcome the opportunity to be able to get on a plane some day and go visit my family back in the States. Come on U.S. Embassy, represent your citizens.

Most countries adopt more or less than same policy that their citizens will be vaccinated by the host countries. US not alone on this position. Take for example Thailand, the government has issued a statement that they will include foreigners in their vaccination program. It is really for the interest of each individual country comprehensive covid protection program to have their citizens and foreigners vaccinated.

[LNKDES1]

7 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

Most countries adopt more or less than same policy that their citizens will be vaccinated by the host countries. US not alone on this position. Take for example Thailand, the government has issued a statement that they will include foreigners in their vaccination program. It is really for the interest of each individual country comprehensive covid protection program to have their citizens and foreigners vaccinated.

I know it's still early in the overall world vaccination process. But I think I'll wait for the Pfizer, Moderna, or better yet, Johnson & Johnson vaccines to arrive. This is from a U.S. Embassy website, dated Feb. 12: "The United States has expressed concerns that Russia and the People’s Republic of China are sharing or marketing vaccines with the international community without providing transparent, peer reviewed scientific evidence of their safety and efficacy. U.S. citizens abroad should consult with medical providers they trust, and review information published by relevant public health authorities, as they consider their options for accessing a COVID-19 vaccine."

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

11 hours ago, LNKDES1 said:

I know it's still early in the overall world vaccination process. But I think I'll wait for the Pfizer, Moderna, or better yet, Johnson & Johnson vaccines to arrive.

 

I think the newly approved J&J vaccine from the U.S. could be a real opportunity for Thailand, if J&J with Merck has the capacity to supply beyond their contractual obligations to the U.S.

 

As the article you cited above summarizes it:

 

"Of the five proven anti-COVID vaccine formulas that have been approved for use in the First World, only the J&J formula is refrigerator safe and easy to manufacture and a single-dose formula."

 

That's exactly the kind of remedy that's tailor made for the needs of someplace like Thailand... in addition to the U.S.

 

Speaking personally, I know I'd be a whole lot more comfortable getting the J&J jab as opposed to the Sinovac one, or even Sputnik, based on the kinds of public information and the extent of trials that have been performed on each.

[Credo]

3 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

I think the newly approved J&J vaccine from the U.S. could be a real opportunity for Thailand, if J&J with Merck has the capacity to supply beyond their contractual obligations to the U.S.

 

As the article you cited above summarizes it:

 

"Of the five proven anti-COVID vaccine formulas that have been approved for use in the First World, only the J&J formula is refrigerator safe and easy to manufacture and a single-dose formula."

 

That's exactly the kind of remedy that's tailor made for the needs of someplace like Thailand... in addition to the U.S.

 

Speaking personally, I know I'd be a whole lot more comfortable getting the J&J jab as opposed to the Sinovac one, or even Sputnik, based on the kinds of public information and the extent of trials that have been performed on each.

I totally agree.  J&J's vaccine was tested in both South Africa and Brazil and is effective against those strains.  The other vaccines do not have data on those variants.   

With so much international travel to Thailand, it's best that they have the vaccine that has the broadest known efficacy.   

[Patong2021]

On 3/3/2021 at 7:07 AM, Tug said:

Great news let’s hope people take advantage of it.I understand the pressure to get the economy rolling again but at the same time looks like some governors are determined to jump the gun thus prolonging this scourge sad let’s hope their citizens have more sense!

 Really? This is country where 74 million voted for man who made pandemic worse.

As cruel as this reads, I do not care.  Texas, Florida, Mississippi all want to play politics and to act only for those who have money and health. Well maybe thousands more must die needlessly in order to light the spark that causes the disadvantaged to rise up and to flex their muscle. They need a spark to send them to vote and to purge their states of the idiot GOP ruling class. In the USA, Covid is a disease of poverty with the poor most likely to have complications and to die.  Yes old people are at risk, but poor old people are the most at risk. Wealthy old people have better outcome because they have money to take care. Minimum wage worker at slaughterhouse, or fast food shop or 7-11 most likely to get sick, not better paid worker. And it just so happens those low paid workers are mostly not white and most likely to have existing health conditions because of poverty that impacts lifestyle. Vaccination clinics are set up for the ease of those who have financial means and can drive to sites  or who can access vaccination. When you are poor, you most likely do not have  car let alone money for petrol, and most likely are  in poor neighborhood without  vaccination clinic.

[Tug]

6 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

 Really? This is country where 74 million voted for man who made pandemic worse.

As cruel as this reads, I do not care.  Texas, Florida, Mississippi all want to play politics and to act only for those who have money and health. Well maybe thousands more must die needlessly in order to light the spark that causes the disadvantaged to rise up and to flex their muscle. They need a spark to send them to vote and to purge their states of the idiot GOP ruling class. In the USA, Covid is a disease of poverty with the poor most likely to have complications and to die.  Yes old people are at risk, but poor old people are the most at risk. Wealthy old people have better outcome because they have money to take care. Minimum wage worker at slaughterhouse, or fast food shop or 7-11 most likely to get sick, not better paid worker. And it just so happens those low paid workers are mostly not white and most likely to have existing health conditions because of poverty that impacts lifestyle. Vaccination clinics are set up for the ease of those who have financial means and can drive to sites  or who can access vaccination. When you are poor, you most likely do not have  car let alone money for petrol, and most likely are  in poor neighborhood without  vaccination clinic.

Well Joe Biden’s making progress I got my 2ond jab of the maderna vaccine today I’ve got my wife getting her first jab on the 11th of this month she’s a youngster of 60 lol still cuter than a bugs ear btw so we are working our way through the population things are picking up let’s just hope the republicans don’t get a lot of folks killed by jumping the gun ehh it’s understandable they heck we all want to get the economy going stay safe follow safe protocols