Biden plans to order 100mn more Johnson & Johnson vaccines

"If we have a surplus, we're going to share it with the rest of the world", Biden said, adding that the United States had already committed to providing $4 billion to the COVAX global initiative to distribute vaccines in developing countries. The vaccination rates of Israel, Seychelles and the United Arab Emirates now exceed all other countries with doses administered per 100 people of 98.51, 87.99 and 56.01, respectively. "We've committed United States dollars 4 billion to help get the funding for more vaccines around the world", he told reporters at the White House.

Biden spoke at an event at the White House with the CEOs of Johnson & Johnson and Merck, announcing his plans to purchase an additional 100 million vaccine doses to help vaccinate the country. Our new collaboration with Merck will allow us to be even more ambitious in our goals of keeping as many people around the world as safe as we possibly can'.

There are three Covid-19 vaccines now authorized for emergency use in the US.

"Tomorrow night, I'm going to (deliver a) prime-time address to the American people and talk about what we've been through as a nation this past year, but more importantly, I'm going to talk about what comes next", Biden said on Wednesday.

Biden said last week the U.S. would have enough Covid-19 vaccine doses for every adult American by the end of May, which would dramatically accelerate his timeline previously set for the end of July.

"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", he said.

As Gorsky has said, 'Johnson & Johnson was built for times like these'.

"It has also shone a light on the resilience of our first responders, scientists, healthcare workers, and those providing essential community services: the real heroes of this challenging moment", he said. The Defense Production Act will be employed to assist in equipping two Merck facilities to manufacture Johnson & Johnson vaccines - a political win for the Biden Administration.

"At Merck, we are proud to contribute to the global response to the pandemic".