WASHINGTON (AP) – COVID-19 vaccination efforts continue to ramp up nationwide.
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden is expected to announce the U.S. is buying an additional 100 million doses of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to the Associated Press.
The drugmaker is already obligated to supply 100 million doses to the federal government by the end of June.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine can be stored at warmer temperatures than its Pfizer and Moderna counterparts and only requires one shot.
Last week, the company announced it had partnered with Merck to help speed up production of the vaccine.
Andy Slavitt, Senior adviser to the White House COVID-19 Response Team said the Biden administration has been streamlining the vaccination process.
“We’ve improved the efficiency of the vaccination process. When we arrived, less than half of vaccines were administered. Today, that number is approximately 75 percent,” he said.
By mid May, The U.S. is set to receive enough doses of the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines to inoculate all adults who want it.
The surplus would ensure supply to cover young adults and children, pending the result of safety and efficacy trials.
They also could be used as potential “boosters” to further protect against emerging virus variants.
According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 29 million Americans have been infected and more than 528,000 have died from COVID-19.
Copyright 2021. Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. WBAP contributed to this report.
