Daily US Times: President Joe Biden said Tuesday the United States expects to take delivery of enough Covid-19 vaccine for all adults in the country by the end of May — two months earlier than anticipated. Mr Biden pushed states to get at least one shot into the arms of teachers by the end of March to hasten school reopenings.
President Biden also announced that drugmaker Merck will help produce rival Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot vaccine, which is approved by the FDA recently. The partnership between the two drug companies likening the spirit of national cooperation during World War II.
The US President said the country is now on track to have enough vaccine supply for all adults in America by the end of May.
Despite the stepped-up pace of coronavirus vaccine production, officials said, the work of inoculating Americans could extend well into the summer, depending both on the government’s capacity to deliver doses and Americans’ willingness to roll up their sleeves.
Biden’s announcements quickly raised expectations when the country could safely emerge from the Covid pandemic with the promise of speedier vaccinations, but even as he expressed optimism, the US president quickly tempered the outlook for a return to life as it was before the virus hit.
He said: “I’ve been cautioned not to give an answer to that because we don’t know for sure,” adding that he is hoping for a return to normal was sometime before “this time next year.”
As Biden spoke, states across the US were moving to relax coronavirus restrictions. This despite the objections of the White House and Dr. Anthony Fauci, who have warned against any relaxation of virus protocols until more Americans are vaccinated.
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