Usa, Biden: vaccines for all Americans by May. Agreement between Merck and Johnson & Johnson's

2021-03-02T22:55:17.175Z

"The US is on the road to having enough Covid vaccines for all Americans by the end of May", two months ahead of forecasts. Joe Biden moves into fourth gear and sets the arrow, officially announcing a White House-mediated partnership between Merck and Johnson & Johnson's, two of the world's largest traditionally rival pharmaceutical companies, to accelerate the production of J&J single-dose vaccines. "A collaboration similar to the one we saw in World War II," he stressed, recalling that he had invoked the 'Defense production act', a law dating back to the war with Korea, to adapt two Mercks plants to produce the vaccine. "Three weeks ago I announced that we would have enough vaccines for all Americans by the end of July, today, with the arrival of a third vaccine and efforts to scale up production, I say we will have enough for all Americans by the end of July. end of May, "he said. Biden also said he was confident of reaching the 100 million dose milestone in its first 100 days, by April 20. And he would like, he added, that every teacher and school worker receives at least the first dose of the vaccine by the end of March. But "it is not yet time to let our guard down", he warned, also indirectly responding to the two Republican governors of Texas and Mississippi, Greg Abbott and Jonathon Tate Reeves, who announced on Wednesday the lifting of the mask obligation and the reopening 100% of activities, challenging the warning of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Cdc) not to relax measures. "For nearly half a year, most businesses have been open at 50% or 75%, and too many Texans have lost job opportunities during that time," explained Abbott. "Too many small business owners have struggled to pay their bills, this has to stop, it's time to open Texas 100%," he continued. The decision follows the drop in the number of infections in the second largest US state, where 1 million vaccines are now administered a week. In the meantime, the Senate is also expected to vote on the $ 1,900 billion maxi aid plan this week, so that it can be launched before March 15, when the previous economic stimuli expire.