The United States is rolling out Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines for children aged 5 to 11 this week, but most of the 15 million shots being shipped initially are unlikely to be available before next week, the White House said on November 1.

The Biden administration on Oct. 20 outlined a plan to vaccinate millions of U.S. children ages 5 to 11 as soon as the Covid-19 shot is authorized for them, readying doses and preparing locations ahead of the busy holiday season.

The United States on June 14 crossed the grim milestone of 600,000 Covid-19 deaths, according to a Reuters tally, as slowing vaccination rates threaten the Biden administration target of having 70 percent of U.S. adults receive at least one shot and 160 million fully inoculated by July 4.

Jon Bigelow, Thayer Pond Solutions

According to Jon Bigelow, Executive Director of the Coalition for Healthcare Communication, the beginning of the Biden administration has had a largely positive impact on the biopharma industry, notably marked by an effort to “stick to the science”; a fairly efficient roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines that allows reopening of schools and many aspects of normal daily life; and expansion of Affordable Care Act (ACA) coverage. But behind the scenes, pressure continues to build surrounding high prescription drug costs and changes in tax policy.

Safety concerns about Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine along with overall flagging demand for vaccinations have slowed its U.S. rollout to a crawl, leaving close to half of the 21 million doses produced for the United States sitting unused.

From free beer to free childcare, President Joe Biden on June 2 touted new efforts to get 70 percent of U.S. adults at least one shot of vaccination against Covid-19 by the July 4 Independence Day holiday.

Uber Technologies Inc. and rival Lyft Inc. on May 24 launched Covid-19 vaccine ride programs in partnership with the White House, offering Americans free rides or discounts for their trips to and from a vaccination site.

Two doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine are around 85 percent to 90 percent effective against symptomatic disease, Public Health England (PHE) said on May 20, citing an analysis of real-world data from the rollout of the shot.

Germany’s CureVac, which is gearing up to publish results of a key Covid-19 vaccine trial, said U.S. export restrictions on key materials are making it impossible to predict the company’s short-term supply ramp-up in Europe.

European countries prepared on April 21 to resume deliveries of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine and speed up the rollout after Europe’s drug regulator backed the shot.