Merck boosts competitor J&J's vaccine supply
White House announces deal for Merck factory to produce rival's COVID-19 vaccine doses. Texas drops mask mandates and other restrictions.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced a total relaxation of mask mandates and business occupancy restrictions, defying pleas from health officials. The governor’s order allows county judges to impose new restrictions if hospital capacity is too high for seven straight days. However, the governor is blocking counties from imposing any penalties for not wearing masks.
NIAID Director and White House advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci tried to address some confusion over how much people can relax after getting vaccinated. His main point: at home with family is one thing, going out in public requires masks and social distancing, for now:
“The setting in a home of a small group of people having dinner together, all of whom are vaccinated, is very different when you step out the door and go into a society that has 70,000 new infections per day.”
The White House made a deal for Merck to manufacture the new Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines, first reported by the Washington Post. Merck ended its own COVID-19 vaccine development last month after disappointing clinical trial results. The administration said that 18 million vaccine doses are going out to states this week, reflecting an increase in production from Pfizer and Moderna, plus the new J&J shots.