President Joe Biden has said that he believes the US will be approaching normalcy by the end of this year as the country races to deliver coronavirus vaccines to millions of Americans.
Biden on Friday toured a manufacturing facility of Pfizer in Kalamazoo, Michigan, seeking to highlight efforts to mass produce a coronavirus vaccine as his administration looks for ways to increase supply and streamline distribution.
“I believe we’ll be approaching normalcy by the end of this year. And God willing, this Christmas will be different than the last,” Biden said responding to a question at the site in Michigan.
At the same time, he refused to make any commitment.
“I can’t make that commitment to you. There are other strains of the virus. We don’t know what could happen in terms of production rates. Things can change. But we’re doing everything the science has indicated we should do, and people are stepping up to get everything done that has to be done,” he said.
Biden said that getting the vaccine and having it available is not the same as putting it in someone’s arms. This is going to be a continuous rolling effort.
“We will have ordered, much of which will have been distributed, over 600 million doses by the end of July. July 29th is the expected date. That could change. Look at what’s happening with the weather now, for example: It’s slowing up the distribution right now,” he said.