US will have enough shots for every adult by May end: Biden

Meanwhile in distant Luanda, capital of Angola, a health professional administers an Oxford/AstraZeneca shot to a nurse. Pic/AFP

The United States will have enough COVID-19 vaccine doses for every adult American by the end of May, President Joe Biden has said.

Biden also announced he would direct states to prioritise teachers in their vaccination plans, reemphasising a commitment to returning students to classrooms amid a confusing administration stance on when and how classrooms can reopen.

The new date does not mean all Americans would receive shots by May 31; issues with distribution and personnel mean it could take much longer for all doses to be administered, CNN reported.

"That's progress," Biden said warning there could still be delays in getting shots in Americans' arms and suggesting the country would not return to full normalcy for much longer.

"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," Biden said.

The United States has reported more than 28.7 million confirmed infections and over 5,14,000 deaths. The demand for vaccines still far exceeds supply and these vaccines can't come soon enough.

‘Teachers a priority'
Biden also announced he was directing states to prioritise teachers in their vaccine distribution plans in a bid to reopen schools. "Let's treat in-person learning like an essential service that it is," he said, adding his goal was for every teacher or school worker to receive at least the first dose of a vaccine by the end of March.

US ties up with J&J, Merck for vaccine
Washington: President Biden has announced a collaboration between Johnson & Johnson, Merck, and the federal government to ramp up COVID-19 vaccine production. The Food and Drugs Administration has approved the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine for emergency use in the US.

Sniffer dogs as virus detectors?
Geneva: Researchers in Switzerland have launched a training trial to see if sniffer dogs can find out people infected with COVID-19. Three dogs are being exposed to samples of sick and healthy people as part of their four-week training.

2,86,062
No. of new cases reported globally in the past 24 hours

11,49,12,129
Total no. of cases worldwide

25,52,687
Total no. of deaths worldwide

Source: WHO/Johns Hopkins

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