Administration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr., 2021 Remarks at the Federal Emergency Management Agency COVID–19 Mass Vaccination Site in Houston, Texas February 26, 2021 You're all being very polite. You've been with me all day, and it's dinner time. [Laughter] Good afternoon—or almost. Actually, it's evening. And I want to thank you, Governor and Mrs. Abbott, for your hospitality and your friendship. And Representative—Senator Cornyn, I think he had to go back; I think he's getting on a plane. He told me last—he came in to see me last event. And Representatives Shirley [Sheila]* Jackson Lee, Al Green, Sylvia Garcia, Lizzie Pannilli—excuse me, Pannill [Elizabeth Pannill Fletcher]*—and—what am I doing here? I'm going to lose track here. And Mayor Turner, Judge Hidalgo. Thank you all for welcoming us. Severe Winter Storms And Jill and I wanted to visit Texas today for a couple of reasons: First and foremost, to let the people of Texas know our prayers are with you in the aftermath of this winter storm. And secondly, to let you know what I told Governor Abbott and Mayor Turner and Judge Hidalgo and the congressional delegation: that we will be true partners to help you recover and rebuild from the storms and this pandemic and the economic crisis. We're in for the long haul. Earlier today we received an update on the storm relief efforts from—from Harris County, at the Harris County Emergency Operations Center. The folks there are doing God's work, as my mother would say. It was an important update on how the Federal Government and the States are working together through the major disaster declaration and the emergency declarations that I made after the storm hit when the Governor contacted me. The Federal Emergency Management, FEMA, is providing millions of gallons of water and millions of meals, direct assistance, to uninsured homeowners to repair the damage burst pipes caused to millions of homes across this State. And the public assistance that comes with a disaster declaration ensures that mayors and county officials can find shelter for folks in need and keep them safe and warm. This in addition to the more than 125,000 blankets FEMA has also made available to storm victims so children and families don't go to sleep cold. FEMA, working with the Defense Logistics Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers from the Defense Department, has made generators and diesel fuel available to hospitals and nursing homes and other critical facilities to keep the lights on and speed power restoration along the way. Many local military bases are helping efforts to distribute water and food, fuel, and blankets all across this State. And I especially want to thank the servicemembers for helping your fellow Americans in time of need. When we have a problem, we always call on the military—domestic or foreign—no matter what. You're the best in the world. And I know millions of Texans have been impacted by the disruption of community water systems as a result of the power outages. The Environmental Protection Agency has deployed mobile drinking water labs in Houston, San Antonio, and Fort Worth to test water so we can get the—so you can get boil water advisories lifted and get safe drinking water flowing through those faucets again. * White House correction. 1 There's more, but let me say this: We're not here today as Democrats or Republicans. We're here today as Americans. The American leaders, with responsibility—all of us here in this parking lot—responsibility to all the people we serve. When a crisis hits our States, like the one that hit Texas, it's not a Republican or Democrat who's hurting, it's our fellow Americans who are hurting. And it's our job to help everyone in need. Look out for one another. Leave nobody behind. COVID–19 Vaccination Efforts That's what we've seen today in our visit. After our briefing on the storm relief, we stopped by the Houston Food Bank that's also doing God's work—incredible operation—just like everyone else here in this—in the vaccination center. They've done thousands of people. Thousands of people. It's making a fundamental difference in the safety and security of people. The more people get vaccinated, the faster we will beat this pandemic. That's why one of my first steps and my first goals as President was to announce that I was going to get 100 million COVID vaccine shots administered in my first 100 days. And because of the people behind me and others, America would be the—is going to be the first in the country—perhaps the first in the world—to get that done. And I'm proud to say we're halfway there: 50 million shots. Actually, I was telling the Congressman earlier, I carry a little card with me. And it lists, every day, the number of—the actual number of vaccines that have been administered. As of today, five—as of last night, 503,587—every single one matters—in just 37 days. Weeks ahead of schedule. We're weeks ahead of schedule. Even with setbacks from the winter storm, we're moving in the right direction. Look, in the last 6 weeks, we've gone from 6 million shots right before we took office, in total, to 12 million shots per week now. We've increased vaccine distribution by 70 percent. Sixty percent of the people over the age of six—60 percent of the people over the age of 75 have received at least one shot. Close to 50 percent of the people over the age of 65 got at least one shot. And you say, why am I focused on that? Well, it's especially important because people over the age of 65 account for 80 percent of all the COVID deaths. Eighty percent. Roughly 75 percent of the people who live in long-term care facilities now have gotten their first dose, and those cases are at the lowest level since reporting began in May. We're making this progress because of all of you. The Federal Government and the States are working together along with public and private partners. It starts with supply. We worked with vaccine manufacturers—Pfizer and Moderna—to ensure we have enough supply to supply all adults in America by the end of July. And we discovered that vaccine manufacturers, though, weren't getting prioritized when it came to securing supplies they needed to fix their problem of not being able to go more rapidly. So I used the Defense Production Act to speed up the supply chain for key equipment that's already helped increase vaccine production. Last week, I toured the Pfizer vaccine manufacturing facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It's incredible: the precision, the safety, the pride, the sense of purpose, everyone involved at that facility. And we've all seen the news about the Johnson and Johnson vaccine today. It's just the third safe, effective vaccine. And it's out. They've approved it today. We're going to use every conceivable way to expand manufacturing of the vaccine—the third vaccine—to make even more rapid progress at getting shots in people's arms. Here's what else we're doing: We're increasing the number of vaccinators. The people putting the—it's one thing to have the vaccine; it's another thing to get it in people's arms. We've brought back retired doctors and nurses by Executive order, allowing that to happen. We've 2 already deployed more than 1,500 professionals—medical professionals—you see during natural disasters from FEMA, our Commissioned Corps from the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Defense Department, including the National Guard. And we're lining up thousands more. We're also setting up more places to get vaccinated. And today—as of today, we provided $3.8 billion to States, Territories, and Tribes to create hundreds of new vaccination centers and ramp up existing ones. We're providing personnel and equipment, and we're covering the costs for States, including the use of their National Guards. Here in Texas, it's meant millions of dollars and hundreds of vaccinators working at community vaccination centers and three mass vaccination centers in Arlington, Dallas, and right here in Houston, on the other side here, that vaccinate thousands of Texans a day. Tens of thousands overall. I want to show the American people the extraordinary effort being made and undertaken in the most difficult operational challenge this Nation has ever faced logistically. It's remarkable. About 6,000 doses a day here. Folks who are eligible can call by phone, sign up online for an appointment, drive in, stay in their cars, get a shot, in and out in a very short amount of time. It requires massive logistical coordination and critical Federal support from FEMA and the National Guard to work with cities and States, and the Houston Texans, to stand up this kind of site. Vice President Harris and I did a virtual tour of a similar vaccination center in Arizona. One nurse—one nurse there said—she talked about the shots, talking how many they were getting in people's arms, and she said she felt like she was administering—and get this—a "dose of hope." A dose of hope. We're working with Governors across the country to stand up and lend Federal support to hundreds of vaccination centers: from stadiums, like here, to community centers, to houses of worship, large parking lots, delivery places.