{"id":116014,"date":"2021-03-10T18:52:08","date_gmt":"2021-03-11T02:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.46.6.243\/?p=116014"},"modified":"2021-03-10T18:52:08","modified_gmt":"2021-03-11T02:52:08","slug":"president-biden-with-the-ceos-of-johnson-johnson-and-merck-on-covid-vaccine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=116014","title":{"rendered":"President Biden with the CEOs of Johnson &#038; Johnson and Merck on Covid Vaccine"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Washington DC&#8230;I want to thank you both for those words.  You know, you and I knew one another when I wasn\u2019t a President and you weren\u2019t a chairman.  MR. FRAZIER:  Right.  (Laughs.)  THE PRESIDENT:  We\u2019d ride back and forth on Amtrak.  You lived in Philadelphia; I was commuting to Wilmington.  It\u2019s good to see you both here.  And thank both of you for your kind words.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UjH4_NOVtWc\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>And I want to thank the scientists and researchers at Johnson &#038; Johnson for the literal heroic effort that began when COVID-19 first spread and led to the safe and effective vaccine that are now being co-produced. <\/p>\n<p>Today, we\u2019re seeing two health companies \u2014 competitors \u2014 each with over 130 years of experience, coming together to help write a more hopeful chapter in our battle against COVID-19.  I just had an opportunity to meet with both of these CEOs and with their senior operating officers, and to hear about the work they\u2019re doing together to produce vaccine substitute [substance] and accelerate what they call to \u2014 to take it to full finish [fill finish].<\/p>\n<p>You know, what\u2019s clear is this is a historic, nearly unprecedented collaboration.  During World War Two, one of the country\u2019s slogans was \u201cWe are all in this together.\u201d  \u201cWe are all in this together.\u201d  And companies took that slogan to heart.  For example, when one automaker didn\u2019t have the capacity to build enough jeeps, so a competitor stepped in to help.  Competing airline makers teamed up, and they produced parts for each other and gave the American pilots, as a consequence of that, control of the skies.<\/p>\n<p>Today, we\u2019re seeing the same type of collaboration when it comes to getting this virus under control.  I said we ought to treat this like a war.  So, I want to thank the two companies for showing how we can come together to defeat this virus by putting patriotism and public health first.  And I mean that literally \u2014 putting patriotism and public health first.<\/p>\n<p>Your companies have been working closely with a man you\u2019ve both privately, on the way over, bragged about: Jeff Zients.  Jeff is in the front row here.  I want to thank you, Jeff, and the entire COVID team you put together for the coordination of our COVID-19 response, and Dr. David Kessler and his team at the Department of Health and Human Services.<\/p>\n<p>You know, when we came into office, we began working with the team at J&#038;J to accelerate and add capacity to their manufacturing and production efforts.  And it quickly became clear that Merck \u2014 one of the world\u2019s leading vaccine manufacturers \u2014 was in a position to be the partner we needed in this effort \u2014 in this wartime effort.<\/p>\n<p>I have not hesitated to use my power under the Defense Production Act to expedite critical materials in vaccine production, such as equipment, machinery, and supplies.  And it\u2019s not just Johnson &#038; Johnson and Merck; Pfizer and Moderna also worked closely with us to help speed up the delivery of millions of more doses. <\/p>\n<p>The result is that we\u2019re now on track to have enough vaccine supply for every American adult by the end of May \u2014 months earlier than anyone expected.  And today, I am directing Jeff and my HHS team to produce an additional 100 million doses and purchase another 100 million doses of the Johnson &#038; Johnson vaccine.  I\u2019m doing this because, in this wartime efforts, we need maximum flexibility.  There is always a chance that we\u2019ll encounter unexpected challenges or we\u2019ll \u2014 there will be a new need for a vaccine effort \u2014 or vaccination effort. <\/p>\n<p>A lot can happen, a lot can change, and we need to be prepared.  And, of course, we need to match the miracle of science and the skill of manufacturing with the massive logistical undertaking of vaccinating over 300 million Americans.  Already, we have gone from Johnson &#038; Johnson vaccine authorization to shots in the arm in three days. <\/p>\n<p>I was telling the gentlemen, we were at a facility yesterday \u2014 a veterans outreach \u2014 and there were four \u2014 or there were three members of the veterans community getting shots.  One was getting \u2014 of each of the three vaccines.  And the guy in the middle, a veteran, was getting his.  And I was standing about as far away as I am from you, and standing up, and he was sitting down.  And as the nurse put it in his arm, he went, \u201cJ&#038;J \u2014 just one.\u201d  (Laughs.)<\/p>\n<p>Well, there\u2019s millions of people who are going to feel that way and be proud to have \u2014 be in a position that they ha- \u2014 an ability to get the kind of help they need.<\/p>\n<p>Seven weeks ago, only 8 percent of the seniors \u2014 those most vulnerable to COVID-19 \u2014 had received the vaccination.  Today, 60 percent of the people over the age of 65 or older have received at least one shot.  And that\u2019s because this is the population that represents 80 percent of the COVID-19 deaths. <\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve opened \u2014 we\u2019ve opened support and opened \u2014 excuse me \u2014 and supported more than 500 community vaccination sites.  That\u2019s more \u2014 and they\u2019re administrating hundreds of thousands of shots a day. <\/p>\n<p>And for folks who aren\u2019t near a pharmacy or mass vaccination center, we\u2019re deploying mobile clinics, like vans, that go into places to meet the folks where they live.  We\u2019re also supplying vaccines to community health centers to reach those who have been hit the hardest and suffered the most, especially black, Latino, Native American, and rural communities.  And this is important because we know we have more to do to ensure everyone is treated with equity and those most impacted get the care they deserve.<\/p>\n<p>On Saturday, we hit a record of 2.9 million vaccinations in one day in America.  And beyond the numbers are the stories: a father who says he no longer fears for his daughter when she leaves to go to work at the hospital; the children who are now able to hug their grandparents.  The vaccines bring hope and healing in so many ways. <\/p>\n<p>Again, a vaccinated American is the only way to beat the pandemic, get our economy back on track, and for us to get back our lives and our loved ones. <\/p>\n<p>You know, that\u2019s why the American Rescue Plan was so critical.  I want to thank Speaker Pelosi and the House of Representatives today for passing the bill, and I will be signing it into law shortly. <\/p>\n<p>This bill represents a historic \u2014 historic victory for the American people.  I look forward to signing it later this week. <\/p>\n<p>Everything in the American Rescue Plan addresses a real need, including investments to fund our entire vaccination effort: more vaccines, more vaccinators, and more vaccinations sites.  Millions more Americans will get tested, including home testing.  Schools will soon have the funding and resources to reopen safely \u2014 a national imperative.<\/p>\n<p>The American Rescue Plan, the partnership between Johnson &#038; Johnson and Merck, proves we can do big things, important things in this country. <\/p>\n<p>Now, I\u2019ll \u2014 let me conclude with this: Tomorrow night, I\u2019m going on primetime to address the American people and talk about what we went through as a nation this past year.  But more importantly, I\u2019m going to talk about what comes next.  I\u2019m going to launch the next phase of the COVID response and explain what we will do as a government and what we will ask of the American people. <\/p>\n<p>There is light at the end of this dark tunnel of the past year, but we cannot let our guard down now or assume that victory is inevitable.  Together, we\u2019re going to get through this pandemic and usher in a healthier and more hopeful future.  So there is real reason for hope, folks.  There\u2019s real reason for hope, I promise you. <\/p>\n<p>May God bless you all.  May God protect our troops.  And may God ease the pain in the heart of so many who have lost so many people in this pandemic. <\/p>\n<p>Thank you, and I really \u2014 we\u2019re going to do this.  We\u2019re going to get it done.  Thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington DC&#8230;I want to thank you both for those words. You know, you and I knew one another when I wasn\u2019t a President and you weren\u2019t a chairman. MR. FRAZIER: Right. (Laughs.) THE PRESIDENT: We\u2019d ride back and forth on Amtrak. You lived in Philadelphia; I was commuting to Wilmington. It\u2019s good to see you [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":116015,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-116014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Fullscreen-capture-3102021-64938-PM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=116014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116014\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/116015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=116014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=116014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=116014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}