Johnson & Johnson said on June 10 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration extended the shelf life of the company’s single-shot Covid-19 vaccine from three months to four-and-a-half months, as millions of unused doses nationwide near expiration.
Eric Lander, founding director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and science adviser for the White House, said in an interview that he wants to have an available vaccine that can fight the next pandemic in about 100 days after recognizing the initial outbreak.
A deal on an intellectual property waiver for Covid-19 vaccines at the World Trade Organization (WTO) was no closer to acceptance on May 31 despite Washington’s backing, due to expected scepticism about a new draft, sources close to the talks told Reuters.
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.
President Joe Biden will send at least 20 million more Covid-19 vaccine doses abroad by the end of June, marking the first time the United States is sharing vaccines authorized for domestic use.
The Biden administration is releasing $7.4 billion to bolster the nation’s healthcare workforce amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and to prepare for future epidemics and health challenges, the White House said in a statement on May 13.
The United States will start to share up to 60 million doses of AstraZeneca Plc’s coronavirus vaccine with other countries as soon as the next few weeks, the White House said on April 26.
The United States will immediately send raw materials for Covid-19 vaccines, medical equipment and protective gear to help India respond to a massive surge in coronavirus infections, U.S. President Joe Biden said on April 25.
The Biden administration on April 16 said it will invest $1.7 billion to help states and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fight Covid-19 variants that are rapidly spreading across the United States.
The United States is preparing for the possibility that a booster shot will be needed between nine to 12 months after people are initially vaccinated against Covid-19, a White House official said on April 15.
