Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House Chief Medical Adviser for Covid-19, listens to U.S. President Joe Biden’s speech (off screen) during a visit to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, Feb. 11 2021.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
Most Americans will have access to a Covid-19 vaccine by mid to late May or early June, said White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci, Tuesday, a slight delay compared to previous predictions.
The infectious disease expert had previously predicted that the life-saving drugs would be widely available to the general public in late March or early April. So far, the distribution of the vaccines has been limited to workers in essential industries, the over-65s and those with underlying health problems, depending on the state of residence.
However, Fauci said the federal government was expecting “significantly more” initial doses from Johnson & Johnson, which has applied for an emergency permit in the US. The New Jersey-based company has previously said it will provide 100 million doses to the US through the US. end of June.
“It can take until June, July and August for everyone to finally get vaccinated,” says Fauci told CNN on Tuesday“So when you hear how long it will take for the vast majority of the population to be vaccinated, I don’t think anyone would disagree that that will be good until the end of summer and we are coming in early fall. . “
The New York Times first reported in January that unexpected production delays would lead to a reduced initial supply of J & J’s drug if an emergency permit were issued. A company spokesperson was not readily available to say how many doses J&J will provide immediately.
The Biden administration has been steadily increasing the number of doses sent to the states each week, and announced plans on Tuesday to ship 13.5 million doses this week. The federal government will also double the number of doses shipped directly to pharmacy chains, said White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
Demand for the drugs still far outweighs the nation’s supply, Fauci told CNN, calling it a “critical issue.” For weeks, state health officials have been demanding a more stable supply of vaccines. Some large-scale mass vaccination centers in the US have had to postpone or temporarily close their opening due to a lack of doses.
“I’m a little disappointed that the number of doses we get early from J&J is relatively small, but as we get further into the spring there will be more and more,” said Fauci.
Meanwhile, the head of the United Kingdom’s vaccine task force told Sky News on Tuesday that he expects every adult there to be able to receive both doses of the vaccine by August or September.
“We are confident that the vaccine task force will now move the stock we will receive to a position where we can vaccinate as many people as the UK wants to vaccinate,” Clive Dix told Sky News.