Last updated on January 17th, 2021 at 04:52 am
Speaking to CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Dr. Celine Gounder, a member of Biden’s Covid-19 advisory board, said President-elect Joe Biden will invoke the Defense Production Act, which expedites and expands the supply of materials and services from U.S. industries to promote national defense, to ramp up production of Covid-19 vaccines as the nation––and the world––embarks on the largest vaccination campaign in history.
“You will see him invoking the Defense Production Act,” Gounder said. “The idea there is to make sure the personal protective equipment, the test capacity and the raw materials for the vaccines are produced in adequate supply.”
You can watch Gounder’s interview below.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
.@celinegounder talks holiday travel and an expected surge in virus cases in the coming months: pic.twitter.com/JDGeLaRfmA
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) December 28, 2020
In the spring, the White House announced President Donald Trump would invoke the Defense Production Act in the spring to address supply chain issues related to the manufacturing of ventilators and production of N95 masks.
Gounder’s comments come after the Trump administration faced criticism for failing to meet its goal of 20 million vaccinations by the end of December. Nearly 2 million people have been vaccinated since the first round of coronavirus vaccinations began in the United States on December 14.
You can track vaccination numbers using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website HERE.
Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.
