Biden Cancels Visit to a COVID-19 Vaccine Manufacturer After a Scathing Report Was Released
President Biden scrapped a Wednesday trip to a vaccine manufacturer after a scathing report said the firm’s lobbying left the federal medical supplies to stockpile unprepared for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Biden was scheduled to visit a Baltimore facility run by Emergent BioSolutions, but he canceled the trip following the Sunday report.
“We just felt [the White House] was a more appropriate place to have the meeting,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday at her daily press briefing.
“The administration is going to undertake a comprehensive review and audit of the National Stockpile,” she said.
The CEOs of Johnson & Johnson and Merck are expected to meet with Biden to discuss the rollout of the third US-approved COVID-19 vaccine. Emergent is working with those companies under a federal Operation Warp Speed contract. It’s unclear if an Emergent representative will attend the White House meeting after the venue change.
