Making America great
America is emerging from the abyss we plunged into a year ago, when COVID first struck. We’re hurtling upward like a rocket headed for the moon. Want proof? President Biden announced Tuesday that by May’s end, we’ll have enough vaccine doses for every adult in America, because of a deal struck by pharmaceutical company Merck (which tried and failed to craft its own COVID vaccine last year), to help drugmaker Johnson & Johnson increase production of their highly effective and newly approved single-dose shot.
Biden brokered the deal using the powerful Defense Production Act (DPA). He learned after taking office that J&J was having unexpected problems manufacturing its vaccine, so Merck is dedicating two factories to churning out J&J brand doses, creating 100 million shots for Americans’ arms by June.
The cooperation between two pharma giants who’re typically competitors is a glimmer of light after a year of darkness. The fact of two rivals working together to tackle our common virus foe, prioritizing human life ahead of profit, marries two important
American principles — the ingenuity it took to invent the vaccine, with the spirit of sharing that invention with those in need.
It was 350 days ago, March 19, 2020, that this Editorial Board first cried out, in vain, for President Trump to use the DPA’s extraordinary powers to bring American manufacturers together to produce badly needed face masks, gloves and ventilators to combat the worst threat the nation has faced since World War II.
The DPA grants the federal government power to lend money directly to corporations to finance production of necessary supplies, and protects corporations from antitrust lawsuits if they cooperate with each other. Trump failed. Biden, who is also demanding states vaccinate teachers by March 31 so schools can reopen, isn’t repeating Trump’s dumb COVID missteps.
We’ve endured so much death, loneliness and hardship, it’s hard to remember what hope feels like. But this is it. We’re vaccinating 2 million per day, and counting. Spring is coming.