Joe Biden to announce a historic collaboration between Merck and Johnson & Johnson

U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced the historic collaboration between rivals Merck and Johnson & Johnson.

Merck will help Johnson & Johnson make its single-shot coronavirus vaccine, in an attempt to boost supply. The president is on a mission to get enough vaccine shots to every adult in the US by the end of May. He described the team-up as an example of an industry coming together for the betterment of the economy and society.

“Two of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world who are usually competitors are working together on the vaccine,” said President Biden. “This is type of collaboration between companies we saw in World War II.”

Biden’s decision to have enough vaccines by the end of May is two months faster than the previous plan of the end of July. Merck and Johnson & Johnson’s agreement to work together is a strategic way for the May goal to be achieved, compared to if they produced the vaccines individually.

The Biden administration has also successfully gotten Johnson & Johnson to ramp up its operations in other ways. For example, the company and its staff are working round-the-clock production to meet up the presidential deadline. Full-time technicians have been posted to plants to remain on stand-by for any machinery repair issues. The company has also accepted logistical help from the Department of Defense.

“Among the things I learned when I came into office was that Johnson & Johnson was behind in manufacturing and production,” Biden said. “We have the potential to have a highly effective vaccine to accompany the two existing vaccines. It simply wasn’t coming fast enough.”

With the new collaboration between the two pharmaceutical companies, Biden’s May goal is likely to be achievable. A Biden administration official said Johnson & Johnson has increased its goal to produce 94 million doses of single-shot vaccines by the end of May. That means it will produce 7 million doses more than the scheduled amount in its contract which demands 87 million doses by the end of May, and a full 100 million doses by the end of June.

Pharmaceutical giants, Pfizer and Moderna have also pledged to deliver 200 million doses of each of their two-shot vaccines by the end of May. The total supply of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of May will be enough for the estimated total number of adults living in the United States.

The May 31 deadline doesn’t mean all Americans would receive the shots by the time. It may take a much longer time for the vaccines to be administered due to distribution and personnel issues. But the sped up the timeline by President Biden will make the time shorter for optimistic Americans to get their vaccines.

“There is light at the end of the tunnel; but we cannot let our guard down now to ensure victory is inevitable, we can’t assume that. We must remain vigilant, act fast and aggressively and look out for one another. That’s how we’re going to get ahead of this virus, get our economy going again and get back to our loved ones,” the President said.

Biden also announced that he has directed states to prioritize teachers in their vaccine distribution plans as the government plans to reopen schools.