Johnson & Johnson is splitting into two companies, separating the division that sells Band-Aids and Listerine from its medical device and prescription drug business.

Johnson & Johnson will replace Chairman and CEO Alex Gorsky with another veteran company executive starting next year.

White House aides said Biden’s first priority is ensuring that Americans are vaccinated before considering distributing doses elsewhere. AdRussia has sent millions of doses of its Sputnik V vaccine to countries around the world, even as it vaccinates its own population. Israel, which has vaccinated more than half of its population with Pfizer vaccines produced in Europe, has also attempted to use vaccine diplomacy to reward allies. Biden's purchasing strategy has come under criticism from nongovernmental organizations who have encouraged the White House to develop clear plans and thresholds for sharing vaccine with the world. So we’re not going to be ultimately safe until the world is safe,” acknowledged Biden.

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)President Joe Biden delivered his first prime-time speech since taking office. Related: Congress OKs $1.9T virus relief bill in win for Biden, DemsEarlier Thursday, Biden signed a landmark $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill. “This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country,” Biden said as he signed the bill in the Oval Office. Biden originally planned to sign the bill on Friday, but it arrived at the White House more quickly than anticipated. Ad“We want to move as fast as possible,” tweeted White House chief of staff Ron Klain.

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)President Joe Biden is set to deliver his first prime-time address since taking office. Watch live at 8 p.m. Thursday:Related: Congress OKs $1.9T virus relief bill in win for Biden, DemsEarlier Thursday, Biden signed a landmark $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill. “This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country,” Biden said as he signed the bill in the Oval Office. Biden originally planned to sign the bill on Friday, but it arrived at the White House more quickly than anticipated. Ad“We want to move as fast as possible,” tweeted White House chief of staff Ron Klain.

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)President Joe Biden delivered his first prime-time address since taking office. This live stream has endedRelated: Congress OKs $1.9T virus relief bill in win for Biden, DemsEarlier Thursday, Biden signed a landmark $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill. “This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country,” Biden said as he signed the bill in the Oval Office. Biden originally planned to sign the bill on Friday, but it arrived at the White House more quickly than anticipated. Ad“We want to move as fast as possible,” tweeted White House chief of staff Ron Klain.

White House aides said Biden’s first priority is ensuring that Americans are vaccinated before considering distributing doses elsewhere. AdRussia has sent millions of doses of its Sputnik V vaccine to countries around the world, even as it vaccinates its own population. Israel, which has vaccinated more than half of its population with Pfizer vaccines produced in Europe, has also attempted to use vaccine diplomacy to reward allies. Biden's purchasing strategy has come under criticism from nongovernmental organizations who have encouraged the White House to develop clear plans and thresholds for sharing vaccine with the world. So we’re not going to be ultimately safe until the world is safe,” acknowledged Biden.

Biden will sign the bill into law on Friday, but the White House didn’t wait, turning the bill signing into a three-day event. Biden on Wednesday announced that his administration is aiming to secure an additional 100 million doses of the single-shot vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson. He appeared at an event with executives from Johnson & Johnson and Merck, rival companies both producing doses of the new vaccine. The Obama White House secured its passage, but then the Democratic Party took a big hit in the midterm elections. “You’ve got to create an echo chamber and amplify it,” said Adrienne Elrod, a Democratic strategist close to the White House.

FILE - In this March 5, 2021, file photo, President Joe Biden participates in a roundtable discussion on a coronavirus relief package in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)President Biden hosted an event with the CEOs of Johnson & Johnson and Merck Wednesday afternoon at the White House. Merck had previously been working on two of its vaccine candidates but stopped that work after early clinical trial data showed a poor immune response. The J&J vaccine can be stored in a normal refrigerator unlike the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines -- it’s not a mRNA vaccine. Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky is a native Michigander.

The state of Michigan is expected to receive 82,700 doses of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine this week.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine for an emergency use authorization. Fauci, who is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said people should take the single-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine if that’s what they are offered. Instead, the J&J vaccine uses a harmless, weakened cold virus to carry instructions into the body to trigger the immune response and a method developed a decade ago and used for an ebola vaccine. Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky is a native Michigander. Testing, efficacyThe Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been tested on nearly 44,000 people in United States, Latin America and South Africa.

Here’s what to know about the J&J vaccine:The J&J vaccine can be stored in a normal refrigerator unlike the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines -- it’s not a mRNA vaccine. Testing, efficacyThe Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been tested on nearly 44,000 people in United States, Latin America and South Africa. Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit also was one of the clinical sites for the J&J vaccine, so many Metro Detroiters have already received the vaccine. Johnson & Johnson is running an additional trial to test effectiveness of a second dose of its vaccine. AdFeb. 24: FDA says J&J 1-dose shot prevents COVID; final decision soonFeb. 4: Johnson & Johnson asks US regulators to OK its one-shot COVID-19 vaccineMore: Local 4′s Dr. Frank McGeorge answers COVID vaccine questions

Johnson & Johnson reported a strong finish to the year, overcoming the disruption of the global pandemic on some parts of its business like medical devices. Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson also is testing a two-dose vaccine as a backup and should have results on that in 2021's second half. The pandemic, and the associated deferral of many medical procedures, reduced sales of surgery, vision care and orthopedics products. Prescription drug sales jumped 16.3%, to $12.27 billion, led by immune disorder drug Stelara and cancer drugs Darzelex, Imbruvica and Erleada. For all of 2020, Johnson & Johnson reported revenue of $82.58 billion, up just 0.6% from 2019, and net income of $14.71 billion, which was 2.7% below 2019's net income.

DETROIT – Johnson & Johnson is on the forefront of finding a vaccine for COVID-19. Its CEO, Alex Gorsky, took time Wednesday to speak with the Detroit Economic Club about where things stand. RELATED: Whitmer applauds Michigan’s role in production of Pfizer vaccineIt was back in January, just as COVID first took hold elsewhere, that Johnson & Johnson started working on treatments. Gorsky couldn’t resist using a Motown metaphor while speaking with the Detroit Economic Club about how Johnson & Johnson are using available data and treatments used for Ebola, Zika and HIV. Meanwhile, the vaccine is one of two m-RNA vaccines currently under investigation, the other is from Moderna.

A separate data system operated by state health officials has documented around 2,300 infections among school-age children since Sept. 1. ___MILAN — Italy has tallied 2,548 new coronavirus cases, the highest daily total in five months. — Maryland is reporting zero coronavirus deaths in a 24-hour period for the first time since March 28. That doesn’t necessarily mean no COVID-19 deaths occurred in that time frame, because sometimes there is a delay in the submission of a death certificate. ___LONDON — The European Medicines Agency has begun its first review process for an experimental COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca.