“You will see him invoking the Defense Production Act,” Celine Gounder, a viral diseases expert on Biden’s COVID-19 advisory board, told CNBC’s Squawk Box program.
“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.”
The wartime production law, which allows the president to compel companies to prioritize manufacturing for national security, could help the US secure components and specialized products that manufacturers need to produce the vaccines.
The United States has been the country hardest hit by the COVID-19 since its global outbreak this year, with more than 19 million positive cases logged since January and nearly 330,000 deaths related to the virus. After a respite in the summer to early fall period, infections have started surging again, pushing hospitalization up to daily record highs of above 100,000 in recent weeks.
