By the Associated Press:
The White House says the Pentagon will deploy troops to assist getting Americans vaccinated against COVID-19.
Coronavirus senior adviser Andy Slavitt announced Friday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has approved a request for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It means about 1,000 active duty military personnel will deploy to help state vaccination centers.
President Joe Biden has called for setting up 100 mass vaccination centers around the country within a month. Two are opening in California, and Slavitt said military personnel will arrive at those centers in a little over a week.
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The White House says President Joe Biden is using the Defense Production Act to help bolster vaccine production, at-home coronavirus testing kits and surgical gloves.
Tim Manning, the White House’s COVID-19 supply coordinator, says the administration will help Pfizer clear a bottleneck around capabilities with vaccine production by giving the drugmaker first priority to needed supplies.
Manning says the U.S. is also investing in six manufacturers to develop at-home and point-of-care tests for the coronavirus, with the goal of producing 60 million tests by the end of the summer.
Manning says, “The country is well behind where we need to be in testing,” and the new contracts will help boost supply.
Manning expects the nation will produce more than 1 billion gloves a month by the end of the year.
