Biden Tours Portage Pfizer Plant, Vows 'We're Going To Beat This'

PORTAGE, MI — President Joe Biden says he cannot pinpoint the exact date when the United States will rid itself of the coronavirus pandemic, but he believes that day is coming sooner rather than later.

The country is on the road to recovery even as it is fast approaching 500,000 coronavirus-related deaths, and there will be more bumps ahead, Biden said Friday after touring the Pfizer plant in Portage. But after pledging to get 100 million Americans vaccinated in his first 100 days in office, Biden said meeting that goal is just the beginning as the fight against the pandemic continues.

Biden's visit to Michigan on Friday came as he said residents across the state and country continue to grieve the loss of loved ones. The 500,000 coronavirus-related deaths will surpass the number of lives lost in World War II over a four-year period, Biden said. But as he spoke to Pfizer workers Friday, the president referred to their efforts as life-saving as Pfizer officials pledged to speed up the rate at which the vaccine is being produced at the local plant.

“All of you here are doing some of the most important work in this facility, right here, that can be done," Biden said.

Biden arrived at Pfizer at around 2:30 p.m. local time and entered a warehouse known as the "freezer farm," which houses 350 ultra-cold freezers each containing 360,000 doses of vaccines at minus 60 degrees Celsius, a Pfizer spokesperson told reporters during the president's visit.

Biden then toured various areas of the plant, which is one of three Pfizer locations in the country, and got a firsthand look at the work being done on a daily basis. The Pfizer plant in Portage employs about 2,800 people who are working in three shifts to keep production of the vaccine operating at a steady level to help meet the demands around the country, the Detroit News reported. The production does not break for holidays, the newspaper reported.

Pfizer officials said Friday that even before the election, Biden demonstrated that he understands the urgency in dealing with the pandemic and has shown "a deep compassion" for those whose lives have been affected by COVID-19. The president was praised for his confidence in both science and American ingenuity — both of which will be needed to help bring an end to the global health crisis.

As of Wednesday, Pfizer has distributed 40 million doses of the vaccine to the government, officials said. Officials said they are taking steps to speed up production of the vaccine that have been supported by the Biden administration.

Biden called on Congress to pass his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which critics have said is too big. Biden said he would be willing to make it cheaper if a bipartisan effort can determine how to help the country recover from the pandemic.

The endgame, Biden said, is to return the country to a sense of normalcy by the end end of the year.

“God willing, this Christmas will be different than the last," Biden said. "But I can’t make that commitment to you.”

Last week, Biden announced that he expects to have enough vaccine — 600 million doses — available to vaccinate every American by the end of July, including 300 million doses from Pfizer.

In an exclusive op-ed piece written for Patch, Biden said that overcoming the pandemic must be a top priority for the country and that we need "more than a medical miracle" to get past the pandemic.

He continued:

"We need to pull off a manufacturing and logistical miracle, too," Biden wrote for Patch. "That's why my Administration hit the ground running on day one with a plan to purchase an adequate vaccine supply, work with providers to ramp up production, set up vaccine centers across the country, and mobilize a massive effort to administer shots in every community."

On Friday morning, the White House coronavirus advisor told reporters that winter storms have delayed shipments of the vaccines around the country. That includes shipments to Michigan, which have kept expected deliveries of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines from being delivered on time, state health officials reported on Thursday.

The 6 million doses that have been delayed represent about three days of delayed shipping, and many states have been able to handle the delay thanks to doses already on hand, adviser Andy Slavitt told reporters on Friday.

More than 2,000 vaccine sites across the country have been affected by power outages caused by the storm, Slavitt said Friday, according to reports. He said about 1.4 million doses are on their way to sites, according to reports, which said that the Biden administration expects the backlogged doses to arrive at their scheduled destinations by early next week.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention informed state health officials that shipments scheduled to go out Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday have been delayed by winter weather conditions in Tennessee and Kentucky.

Although Biden said Friday that he believes there will be enough vaccines available by July for all Americans, that doesn't mean that all those shots will actually be in arms by the end of summer. But after publicly receiving the vaccine along with Vice President Kamala Harris before taking office, Biden said it is necessary for Americans to not only have confidence in the vaccines but take it as well.

Biden said Friday that the number of people being vaccinated on a daily basis has nearly doubled since he took office Jan. 20. Nearly 1.7 million people are getting shots each day across the country, which he said puts the country on track to surpass 100 million vaccinations in the first 100 days of his presidency.

Despite the progress being made, Biden said more needs to be done to get more shots in arms. But he said Americans need to be willing to do their part at a time when new variants of the virus are showing up. In the meantime, Biden called on residents to continue to follow safety guidelines, including wearing masks, calling such actions "patriotic duty" as a part of taking care of one another.

But Biden said the next step involved taking the vaccine as efforts to move beyond the pandemic continue.

“If there’s one message to cut through to everyone in this country, it’s this: Vaccines are safe,” Biden said. “Please — for yourself, your family, your community, this country —take the vaccine when it’s your turn. That’s how to beat this pandemic.”