Biden visits plant, says normalcy is on the way
Weather slows delivery of 6M COVID-19 shots
PORTAGE, Mich. — President Joe Biden toured a state-of-the art COVID-19 vaccine plant Friday, intent on showcasing progress even as extreme winter weather across the U.S. handed his vaccination campaign its first major setback, delaying shipment of about 6 million doses and causing temporary closures of many inoculation sites.
While acknowledging the weather is “slowing up the distribution,” Mr. Biden said at the Pfizer plant in Michigan that he believes “we’ll be approaching normalcy by the end of this year.” His speech melded a recitation of his administration’s accomplishments in its first month confronting the pandemic, a vigorous pitch for his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill and criticism of his predecessor.
The disruptions caused by frigid temperatures, snow and ice have
left the White House and states scrambling to make up lost ground as three days’ worth of vaccine shipments were temporarily delayed. Even the president’s trip to the Pfizer plant was pushed back a day because of the storm.
Before the trip, White House coronavirus response adviser Andy Slavitt said the federal government, states and local vaccinators are going to have to redouble efforts to catch up after the interruptions. The setback comes just as the vaccination campaign seemed to be on the verge of hitting its stride. All the backlogged doses should be delivered in the next several days, Mr. Slavitt said, still confident that the pace of vaccinations will recover.
Mr. Biden has set a goal of administering 100 million shots in his administration’s first 100 days, and he said Friday that’s still on track and just a beginning.
He went on to say that by the end of July, his administration can deliver 600 million doses for Americans. Still, Mr. Biden cautioned that timetable could change, citing the current weather delays and concerns about new strains of the virus, as well as the possibility that production rates could fluctuate.
“I believe we’ll be approaching normalcy by the end of this year,” he said. “God willing, this Christmas will be different than last, but I can’t make that commitment to you.”
Taking a swipe at former President Donald Trump, who he did not mention by name, Mr.
Biden allowed that the previous administration shepherded the approval of two highly effective vaccines. But “it’s one thing to have a vaccine available — the problem was how to get to people’s arms.”
The Pfizer plant Mr. Biden toured, near Kalamazoo, produces one of the two federally approved COVID-19 shots. Weatherrelated delays have affected distribution of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
A confluence of factors combined to throw off the vaccination effort. First, shippers like FedEx, UPS and pharmaceutical distributor McKesson all faced challenges with snowed-in workers. Then, Mr. Slavitt said, road closures in many states kept trucks from delivering their assigned doses of vaccine. And finally, more than 2,000 vaccination sites were in areas with power outages.