>> good afternoon, folks. the vice president and i have good news to report. i would like to make to key announcements today related to the covid-19 vaccination

efforts. a few days ago after a rigorous opening and objective scientific review process the fda issued an emergency use authorization for the johnson & johnson covid vaccine. we should all be encouraged by this news of the highly safe covid vaccine the more they get vaccinated the faster we overcome the virus to get back to our loved ones and get the economy back on track and start to move back to normal. but that's one of my first goals in office was to say there would be 100 million vaccination shots in my first 100 days of officer halfway to the golden 37 days i'm confident we can make it all the way and as i have said we have a long way to go but i said from the outset we will use every resource from the

federal government to make it happen. among the things that i learned is that johnson & johnson was behind in manufacturing and production. but we have the potential with a highly effective vaccine to accompany two more vaccines but it was not coming fast enough. so my team has been hard at work to accelerate the effort and as i have always said this is a war time ever and every action putting together breakthrough approaches and today we are announcing a major step forward to the largest healthcare and pharmaceutical companies in the world that are usually competitors working on the vaccine johnson & johnson and merck working together to expand the production of the johnson & johnson vaccine this collaboration we saw in world

war ii and also invoke the defense production act to put to work facilities to the standards necessary to safely manufacture the j&j vaccine with the assistance of my administration, johnson & johnson is also taking additional new actions to accelerate vaccine production. johnson & johnson manufacturing facilities will now begin to operate 24/7. in addition will use the fence production act in prove vaccine production such as equipment and machinery and supplies. also asked the department of defense to have daily logistical support to strengthen johnson & johnson's efforts and we want to thank johnson & johnson and merck for stepping up to be good corporate citizens.

we are now on track to have enough vaccine supply for every adult in america by the end of may. let me say that again. when we came into office with a prior administration had contracted for not nearly enough to cover enough in america. we rectify that in three weeks ago we can say we would have enough supply by the end of july i'm pleased to announce today as a consequence of a stepped up process the country will have enough vaccine supply for every adult in america by the end of may that is important progress but that's not enough to have a vaccine supply we need vaccinate or's people to put the shots in the arms.

today we brought back retired doctors and nurses who deployed more than 1500 medical personnel you normally see during national disasters from fema and the commission health court at dhs and defense department including the national guard with thousands more to come barrasso increasing the places people can get vaccinated we sent millions of vaccines to over 7000 pharmacies to make it easier to get the shot like they with the flu shot the federal government is also working to set up mass vaccination centers in stadiums, community centers, parking lots that vaccinate thousands per day.

my wife and i just visited one last week and it is incredible. with increased production of three safe and effective vaccines we have an opportunity to address the need more quickly to get our schools back open safely. right now come an entire generation of young people is on the brink of being setback one year or more of their learning. parents understand we see rising mental health concerns due in part to isolation and disparities grow wider each day as remote learning is not the same for every student. educators are doing everything we can to protect and educator students despite the lack of resources and budget crisis that risk education jobs. moms and dads exit the workforce in astonishing numbers to care for and manage

the school experience for the children at home hindering their own opportunities to undermine the health of our economy. this is a national imperative to get kids back into the classroom safely and as soon as possible. back in december set a goal to have the majority of k-8 open by my first 100 days as president. to achieve that goal, i sent the american rescue plan to congress to provide vital help to make sure schools can open safely essential things like more teachers, more buses and bus drivers, more space to conduct more protective equipment, physical alterations the house passed

the american rescue plan last week. hope the senate will follow as quickly and as well and also the cdc issued new guidelines how to reopen the school safely. it is a roadmap to enable schools if they have the resources, they deserve to be open safely. i have given those schools a roadmap. i've asked congress to give them the tools. and let me be clear, we can reopen schools if the right steps are taken even before employees are vaccinated. but time and again we've heard from educators and parents that have anxieties about that. it's another way to help accelerate so let's tree in

person and learning like the essential service that it is then getting essential workers to provide that service childcare workers, get them vaccinated immediately. essential workers. thirty states have taken steps to prioritize educators for vaccination and today i'm using the full authority of the federal government, directing every state to do the same we want every educator and school staff member childcare worker to receive at least one shot by the end of march. to help make this happen in the month of march we will use

the federal pharmacy program to prioritize the vaccination of pre- k-12 educators and staff i went to be very clear not every educator can get their appointment in the first week. the goal is to do everything we can to help the educator receive a shot in the month of march. i want to conclude with this were making progress from the mess we inherited and today's announcements was a huge step to be the pandemic. i have to be honest with you the fight is far from over. i said it would be straight up with you from the beginning. as i said many times things may get worse as the variance spread and as we face setbacks like the recent winter storms in the midwest and south. our administration will not take this lightly. we celebrate the news of a third vaccine i urge all americans please keep washing your hands, stay socially distance, where

masks. get vaccinated when it is your turn. now is not the time to let up. have asked the country to where masks for my first 100 days in office. now is not the time to let our guard down. people's lives are at stake. we have already we have lost over 500,000 americans as of today. we need the senate to pass the american rescue plan because despite the optimism without resources, our entire effort will be setback. we need resources for the american rescue plan urgently to ramp up vaccine distribution, fund other efforts and continue reimbursing states for their

efforts. the resources to expand genomic sequencing stay ahead of variance, protected gear, costs that are required for school in business. the bottom line is we need the american rescue plan now. now. there is light at the end of the tunnel but we cannot let our guard down now or ensure the victory is inevitable. we cannot assume that. we have to act fast and aggressively and look out for one another. that's how we will get ahead and get our economy going again impact your loved ones. thank you and please, it's not over yet. stay vigilant. may god bless you and may god protect our troops. thank you very much.

>> when do things will get back to normal? >> i have been cautioned not to give an answer to that because we don't know for sure. but my hope is by this time next year or before that i hope. but it depends upon if people continue to be smart and understand we can have significant losses. there is a lot we have to do yet. >> did you receive a briefing about the border today? >> yes i did. >> what did you learn? >> a lot. [inaudible conversations]