Biden also said he’s “confident” the U.S. can help other countries by supplying vaccine but that there’s not enough supply to do so yet. He said the 200 million shot milestone in the U.S. will be reflected in data released on Thursday.
The tax credit—covering 100% of up to $511 in daily wages per employee for those small- and medium-sized firms—is intended to spur people to become vaccinated, which in turn encourages others to get a shot, said administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Biden’s administration is facing fresh challenges in its fight against the pandemic. Use of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine was paused in the U.S. earlier this month after reports of six blood clot cases, one of them fatal, amid roughly 7 million doses administered so far.
Production at a vaccine plant in Baltimore has been delayed, slowing the supply of J&J’s vaccine and displacing manufacturing of AstraZeneca Plc’s shot entirely. AstraZeneca has not yet been authorized for use in the U.S.
Also, production at the Emergent BioSolutions Inc. will remain on hold, U.S. regulators said in a report posted Wednesday, after an inspection turned up multiple problems.
Biden has abandoned his pledge of having enough shots for every U.S. adult by May—a goal he set because of the J&J shot’s authorization—and instead now says there will be enough for everyone who wants one, a lower bar.
“We remain confident in our ability to meet the needs that we feel will be out there in the public by the end of May,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday, and added that there will be enough supply from Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. due by the end of July for 300 million people. “So we are confident we’ll be able to meet the demand in the public.”
J&J says it will still provide 100 million shots to the U.S. government, but is no longer saying when it will do so. It had previously promised them by the end of June.
—With assistance from Elaine Chen and Justin Sink.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.