display

According to President Joe Biden, the United States will have enough corona vaccine for all adults in the country by the end of May.

So far, Biden had aimed to reach this milestone in the fight against the virus, which is rampant around the world, by the end of July.

In addition, all teachers, school employees and educators should receive at least the first dose of a vaccine this month in order to accelerate the resumption of normal school operations, Biden promised on Tuesday (local time).

At the same time, several states relaxed their corona requirements - Texas pushed ahead particularly optimistically.

Biden's announcement followed the approval of a third vaccine in the US and successful efforts by the government to further increase production of the compounds.

“We are moving in the right direction.

Today's announcements are a giant step in efforts to deal with this pandemic, "Biden said.

At the same time, he warned the Americans to continue to adhere to the necessary precautionary measures.

"This fight is far from over." New variants of the virus or other developments could undo recent advances, he warned.

display

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued emergency approval for Johnson & Johnson's vaccine on Saturday.

The company has signed a contract with the US government to deliver 100 million doses of the vaccine by the end of June.

Thanks to the support of the government, which among other things enables production around the clock, the delivery can now take place by the end of May, said the Ministry of Health.

In addition, the new vaccine is now also to be produced by the competing pharmaceutical company Merck.

The government will pay Merck a start-up financing of around 270 million dollars (around 225 million euros), the company said.

The experienced vaccine manufacturer does not yet have its own vaccine against the coronavirus in its program.

At first it remained unclear until when Merck would manufacture how many doses of the Johnson & Johnson preparation.

Vaccinations for teachers by the end of March

Biden also announced that he would instruct the states to give preference to teachers, school workers and educators for vaccinations where this has not yet been done.

"We want every educator, school worker and childcare worker to receive at least one vaccination by the end of March," said Biden.

It is necessary to get children safely back to the classroom as soon as possible.

display

The US government will receive 300 million doses each from the manufacturers of the two previously approved vaccines, Biontech / Pfizer and Moderna, by the end of July at the latest.

Two doses are required for each vaccination;

the amount alone would therefore be sufficient to supply all of the almost 260 million adults in the country.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is effective after just one injection.

So far, the vaccines have only been approved for adults.

So far, almost 52 million people in the USA have received at least one vaccination, and a good 26 million people have already received both vaccinations, according to data from the CDC health authority.

The large state of Texas, meanwhile, will lift the mask requirement and all capacity limits for restaurants and other companies from next Wednesday.

"Now is the time to open Texas 100 percent," said Republican Governor Greg Abbott.

The time for restrictions on the economy is over, given the successful vaccination campaign.

The approximately 29 million residents of the southern state remain urged to follow the medical advice to contain the pandemic.

But it no longer needs government regulations, said Abbott.

CDC warns against loosening the restrictions

display

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves also said all masks and capacity restrictions for restaurants and companies would be terminated.

“It's time,” wrote the Republican on Twitter.

Around three million people live in the state.

Other states, including Ohio and Michigan, have at least announced easing of their corona requirements.

The head of the US health authority CDC had only warned on Monday not to rush to lift the restrictions.

Corona expert Ashish Jha from Brown University in Providence commented on Twitter that with the lifting of the corona requirements, Governor Abbott was "taking a great risk to people's lives."

A high-ranking Corona advisor Biden, Andy Slavitt, called the announcements from Texas and Mississippi a "mistake".

The number of new infections in the USA has fallen sharply since the beginning of the year - from over 200,000 per day to an average of over 60,000.

However, experts warn that there could be another increase due to the new variants of the virus.

Since the pandemic started just over a year ago, US authorities have reported nearly 29 million confirmed infections and 516,000 deaths related to the coronavirus.