Biden says US to purchase 200 million extra COVID vaccine doses | Coronavirus pandemic Information

The United States will accelerate deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines across the country, President Joe Biden announced Tuesday, as his government plans to purchase an additional 200 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.

In his remarks at the White House, Biden warned that the pandemic will get worse before it gets better, even if more Americans are vaccinated “earlier than expected” due to the additional doses.

“It will be months before we can vaccinate the majority of Americans,” said Biden, who urged people to wear masks in the meantime to keep the virus from spreading.

The United States has the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the world at more than 25.4 million, according to Johns Hopkins University. Over 424,000 coronavirus-related deaths have been reported across the country.

Biden’s remarks come as his new administration works to get a grip on the scope and scope of the vaccination schedule put in place by his predecessor, former President Donald Trump.

Biden on Tuesday gave the Trump administration the honor of “getting the vaccination program underway” but said “it’s no secret” that the program was “in worse shape than we expected or expected” .

Biden officials have been unable to tell how much vaccine the government has in store, while uneven distribution has created confusion and delays in some states. Biden has pledged to give 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in his first 100 days in office.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on their website that more than 23.5 million doses were administered on Tuesday morning, out of a total of more than 44.3 million doses distributed.

An estimated one million Americans are now receiving the vaccine every day.

Republicans have annoyed Biden’s criticism of the Trump team’s efforts. Representative Steve Scalise, a senior Republican in the House of Representatives, tweeted last week, “The United States was already on track for 100 million cans in 100 days.”

Don’t let the media and democratic politicians twist this any other way:

Biden’s vaccination schedule is Trump’s vaccination schedule.

The United States was already on its way to 100 million doses in 100 days.

They will try to tell you that this is a new plan. It is not.

– Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) January 21, 2021

Additional measures

In the meantime, the White House is expected to hold a briefing with public health experts on Wednesday to get information on the vaccine situation and Biden’s efforts to fight the pandemic.

A “fact sheet” distributed Tuesday by the White House Communications Office with Biden’s remarks described three steps the Biden government is taking to “improve vaccine supply and increase vaccine transparency.”

In addition to purchasing 200 million more doses, the government will increase the number of vaccine doses distributed to states from the current 8.6 million per week to 10 million per week.

The Department of Health and Human Services will also provide state and local authorities with better forecast information on how many doses to expect three weeks in advance. This will help state and local leaders plan vaccination efforts more effectively, the White House said.

Vice President Kamala Harris received her second dose of the moderna coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine from Nurse Judy Lai Yee Chan at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland on January 26, 2021. [Leah Millis/Reuters]Purchasing additional doses would bring the total volume of the vaccine purchased by the government to 600 million doses. Biden said the additional cans would be delivered by mid-September.

Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris received her second dose of the vaccine on Tuesday. She had received her first dose on December 29th.

“I urge everyone to take the vaccine when it’s their turn,” Harris said after receiving the shot.

“It’s relatively painless and it will save your life,” she said.

Biden relied on the Defense Production Act, a 1950 Act of War, to control the production of syringes, needles, and glass vials necessary for the distribution and administration of the vaccine.

He said he has also hired the Federal Emergency Management Agency to build and open federal vaccination centers and send vaccination doses to thousands of eeof pharmacies across the country for free distribution.

“This is a war enterprise. It’s not an exaggeration. Because of this, I have directed the team to be ready to exercise whatever authority I have under the Defense Production Act and expedite these vaccines, ”said Biden.