This law that forces companies to join in the production of the vaccine is responsible for the pharmaceutical company Merck to begin manufacturing the vaccine recently approved by Johnson & Johnson, which is a single dose.
It is important to note that Merck and Johnson & Johnson are commercial rivals but the “spirit of national cooperation” in wartime will allow for a doubling of planned production.
“We are now on track to have a sufficient supply of vaccines for all adults in America by the end of May,” said Biden, who also warned the public to “be vigilant” because “this fight is far from over.”
Although there has been a sharp drop in confirmed cases since the beginning of the year (the 68,000 per day figure is now well below the Jan 8 peak of 300,000), that drop has stabilized over the past week amid fears of the appearance of new, more contagious strains.
In the US, more than 76 million doses of vaccines have been administered, covering 15.3% of the population. Yet the nation is moving toward fulfilling Biden’s promise to vaccinate 100 million people in the first 100 days of his Democratic administration.
States try to return to normality
The governor of Texas issued an executive order on Tuesday, effective as of March 10, that repeals most of the health measures against coronavirus, such as the use of masks and the prohibition of companies from working at full capacity with their workers in plant.
“Now is the time to open Texas 100%,” said Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. “Too many small business owners have had trouble paying their bills. This must end.”
The Democratic Party in the state called the order “insane” because it would waste all the gains that have been made in controlling the virus.
In the case of Mississippi, he also ordered the elimination of the mandatory use of masks. In Michigan, which has a Democratic governor, capacity limits will be lowered at restaurants and at public and residential gatherings.
For its part, South Carolina has removed limits for large gatherings, while capacity limits have been removed at Massachusetts restaurants.
Some cities have also acted. Chicago has reopened public schools and San Francisco announced loosening of the rules on museums, movie theaters, gymnasiums and indoor dining rooms.