PORTAGE, MI -- President Joe Biden said Pfizer’s rapid production of COVID-19 vaccines in Michigan is a key reason the country could return to normalcy by the end of the year, but significant logistical challenges still need to be overcome to deliver enough shots to meet demand.
Biden praised the work of Pfizer employees working around the clock to produce the first coronavirus vaccine after the president toured the 1,300-acre manufacturing facility in Portage on Friday. Surrounded by a banner reading “Science will win,” Biden said his administration is making progress toward meeting the high demand for doses while emphasizing the rapid and equitable distribution of coronavirus vaccines is a matter of life and death.
“I came here because I want Americans to understand the extraordinary work that’s being done to undertake the most difficult operational challenges this nation has ever faced,” Biden said.
The White House contracted with Pfizer for an additional 100 million vaccines last week, adding to an order for 200 million doses secured by the previous administration. The White House expects to vaccinate all adult Americans by July.
The president said his predecessor failed to mobilize an effort to administer the shots at the end of last year, but said the situation is improving. Biden said he hopes next Christmas will be different than the last, when families were encouraged not to gather.
“I can’t give you a date when this crisis will end,” Biden said. “I can tell you we’re doing everything possible to have that day come sooner rather than later. All of you here are doing some of the most important work in this facility, right here, that can be done.”
Biden’s visit to Pfizer’s vaccine facility underscores his administration’s effort to vaccinate every adult by summer. Michigan health officials said they’re ready to scale up distribution operations to meet larger allocations of doses from the federal government.
The president was accompanied by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, who campaigned on Biden’s behalf last year. Biden thanked the two Democratic officials for their work to manage the crisis, calling Peters a “workhorse” and Whitmer a “good friend” who has been on the frontlines of the pandemic.
New cases and deaths linked to infectious respiratory disease are on the decline, but Biden said America remains in the “teeth of the pandemic” as new strains of the coronavirus are being confirmed across the country. Biden said the country will likely reach 500,000 COVID-19 deaths by next week.
Friday marked Biden’s first visit to Michigan as president. His victory over former President Donald Trump was challenged by a small group of protesters who gathered outside the Pfizer facility.
Protesters, including one person who brought a “stop the steal” sign, yelled across the street that they would not take the vaccine.
“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 your country -- take the vaccine when it’s your turn. That’s how to beat this pandemic.”
The president also encouraged people to keep practicing safety measures like wearing masks in public.
“Look, I know it’s inconvenient, but you’re making a difference,” Biden said.
The new president also made passing a COVID relief bill a top priority for his first 100 days in office. Biden is pushing a $1.9 trillion economic aid proposal that includes $1,400 stimulus checks, boosted unemployment benefits and funding for state, local and tribal governments, schools, vaccination programs and other provisions.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said even before Biden took office, he demonstrated compassion for people whose lives have been impacted by the pandemic. Bourla said Biden has shown “an unwavering belief in the ability of both science and American ingenuity to help us bring an end to this public health crisis.”
Bourla said Pfizer is working to expand its manufacturing capacity to double the number of doses it can create each week. Pfizer will produce 120 million doses by the end of March and 200 million by the end of May, he said.
“Mr. President, the challenge is accepted,” Bourla said.
Related: How Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine was produced and distributed from Michigan plant in record time
Pfizer and its partner BioNTech, a German company, set out last April to develop a vaccine by the end of 2020. The goal was reached in record time; trucks carrying the first federally approved COVID-19 vaccine rolled out of the Portage facility on Dec. 13.
The facility increased staffing to run three shifts around the clock without interruption. Pfizer President of Global Supply Mike McDermott told the Associated Press that employees are on track to deliver 2 billion doses of the vaccine by the end of 2021.
Pfizer’s manufacturing campus was established in 1948 and has continued to develop a larger footprint in the area, becoming one of the largest employers in Portage. A spokesperson said Pfizer employs approximately 2,800 full-time employees and contractors.
Pfizer’s engineers in the Kalamazoo manufacturing plant also supported the invention and design of ultra-cold vaccine thermal shippers used to transported millions of doses of vaccine across the country. Biden viewed the “freezer farm,” a warehouse of 350 cold storage units holding a total of 360,000 doses.
Related: 14% of Michigan adults have gotten at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose; see numbers in your county
A second vaccine developed by Moderna received FDA approval at the end of 2020. Vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna are administered in two doses scheduled a few weeks apart.
CDC figures show 57.7 million Americans have received at least the first dose of coronavirus vaccine, while 16.1 million people have received both doses. A third vaccine being developed by Johnson & Johnson would only require a single shot.
During a Wednesday press conference, Whitmer praised Biden’s focus on increasing access to vaccines. Whitmer said the state is making progress toward its goal to “equitably” vaccinate 70% of people over the age of 16, but still faces a shortage of doses.
A total of 1.74 million shots were administered in Michigan as of Feb. 17, including 1.17 million people who received the first dose and 569,314 people who received the second booster shot. There are 2,280 vaccination sites in Michigan, according to the state.
Related: 5 reasons coronavirus cases are falling in Michigan
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced the state’s 41 Federally Qualified Health Centers will begin administering vaccines to people over the age of 65. The health centers primarily focus on patients in underserved areas who would otherwise lack access to services.
Biden repeatedly highlighted the importance of ensuring marginalized communities have access to the coronavirus vaccine. People of color and economically distressed communities were among the hardest hit by the virus.
Michigan is trying to vaccinate 50,000 people per day, stating with health workers and people over the age of 65.
“We have hit that goal on several occasions,” Whitmer said Wednesday. “Once we get enough vaccines we will hit it every day.”
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