Biden expects the US to secure 600 million vaccine does by July

BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — President Joe Biden visited some of the nation’s leading scientists on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19 on Thursday, as he announced the U.S. will have enough supply of the vaccine by the end of the summer to inoculate 300 million Americans.

Biden toured the Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory at the sprawling National Institutes of Health complex just outside Washington that created the COVID-19 vaccine now manufactured by Moderna and being rolled out in the U.S. and other countries. He was also set to address the agency’s team of researchers and scientists, who have investigated treatments for COVID-19 and other dangerous diseases.

The U.S. is on pace to exceed Biden’s goal of administering 100 million vaccine doses in his first 100 days in office, with more than 26 million shots delivered in his first three weeks. Meanwhile, Biden is moving to ease supply bottlenecks and ensure the nation has enough of the current two-dose vaccines to protect 300 million Americans.

Biden announced on Thursday that the U.S. had secured contractual commitments from Moderna and Pfizer to deliver the 600 million doses of vaccine by the end of July — more than a month earlier than initially anticipated.

The pace of injections could increase further if a third coronavirus vaccine from drugmaker Johnson & Johnson receives approval from the Food and Drug Administration.  ...

Biden, wearing a mask, used his remarks to criticize President Donald Trump, saying he inherited “no plan to vaccinate most of the country.” ...

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