Joe Biden’s new CDC director said Thursday that COVID-19 vaccines will not be as widely available in mid-February as the flu shot, a promise made last month by Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, and that the rollout will take place. take much longer.
Speaking of Today, Dr. Rochelle Walensky did not give a date for when the vaccines would be available in pharmacies, saying the new administration should “put the pedal to the metal” to get them to Americans faster.
It has so far been up to the states to distribute the vaccine themselves. Massachusetts says it will start dispensing vaccines in some pharmacies next week, but it’s still far from common in the US.
Most states are still working on their first vaccine groups: people over 65 and those with underlying health conditions.
There are already shortages and delays. California thinks it won’t finish vaccinating that group until June. Any vaccination appointment in New York City that would take place between today and Sunday has now also been postponed for a week.
The Biden administration says fighting COVID-19 is a top priority and the president has vowed to vaccinate 100 million Americans in his first 100 days in office.
They have made sweeping pledges to ramp up vaccine distribution by launching large-scale vaccination sites in places like Yankee Stadium, and hiring medical students, the military, retired doctors and nurses to deliver the shot.
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Speaking on Today, Dr. Rochelle Walensky was unable to give a date for when the vaccines would be available in pharmacies and said the new administration should “ put the pedal to the metal ” to get them to Americans faster
Biden will also direct manufacturers to produce syringes, needles, masks, or other missing elements that could slow down efforts under the Defense Production Act.
Officials say the Trump administration had no clear plan and had to start from scratch.
Walensky was unable to provide a clear timeline on Thursday as to when the vaccine will be available in CVS and Walgreen stores across the country, but she did say it won’t be in February.
Will it be in every pharmacy in this country by that timeline? I do not think so.
And like I said early on, I’m going to tell you the truth here.
“I don’t think we’ll get a vaccine in every pharmacy in this country by the end of February.
“We put in 100 million doses – the first in 100 days, and we’re sticking to that plan.
“But I also want to be aware of the fact that after 100 days, many Americans still need vaccination.”
She said an important part of the plan will be the use of the new vaccines to be approved.
At the moment, only the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are approved in the US.
AstraZeneca’s has been approved in the UK, but not yet in America.
According to Dr. Anthony Fauci, Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine data will be reviewed in the next “week or so.”
“The more vaccines we have that are FDA approved, the better we will be,” said Dr. Walensky.
She also said they had started to speed up vaccine production, but she didn’t want to provide a timeline for when it would happen faster.
“ There are plenty of plans, as we anticipate, to get people vaccinated, ” she said, adding that they need to balance “ the amount of vaccine we have for the number of people eligible, so we donate. don’t have a vaccine on the shelves and still don’t see the images of these long lines. ‘
“ We need to make sure there are enough vaccinators, that we have a health corps in place, that we have a medical army, that we have retirees, medical and nursing students about to graduate, dentists and veterinarians, to get there be out to vaccinate the public, ”she said.
Asked if she knew when it would happen, she said, “We are working towards the answers to the questions. We are at the wheel on day two.
“But we understand exactly – right now I think we still have vaccines on the shelves that we need to get people in.”
The US vaccinated only 5.2% of its population, while Israel vaccinated 32% of its population
On December 14, Alex Azar, Trump’s HHS secretary, said the vaccines would be as available as the flu shot in mid-February.
On Wednesday, Biden’s vaccination coordinator Bechara Choucair presented their plan during a phone call with reporters.
“First, we’re going to create as many places as possible where people can be vaccinated,” he said.
The target of 100 million would still fall short of what many experts say is necessary to achieve ‘herd immunity’, but the government believes it will greatly slow the spread and reduce infections.
“It’s an ambitious but achievable goal … but it’s just the beginning,” Jeffrey Zients, Biden’s new COVID Tsar, said on Wednesday at a press call.
One warrant would prompt agencies to ‘exercise all appropriate powers’ – including the Defense Production Act -‘ to speed up production, supply and administration to address shortages of equipment and supplies needed for the COVID-19 response. to catch’.
Another would increase FEMA reimbursement rates for assisting states in their response. Another order aims to expand the testing offering and increase access to testing – with the aim of getting people back to work and reopening schools.
Yet another would try to ensure that drug trials “respond to the needs of different populations.”
Part of Biden’s plan is to use large-scale sites such as Yankee Stadium as vaccination centers
Larger studies are already attempting to investigate the effects on different minority groups. Some places have already experienced inequalities in communities receiving the vaccine.
An executive order to the Education and Health and Services Departments will prompt them to issue guidelines on reopening schools “so that state and local officials have metrics to inform decision-making.” The administration wants a majority of schools to be open within 100 days.
A new test board is commissioned to develop a ‘clear, uniform approach’ to testing.
The government also plans to provide more information to the public, with regular briefings from public health officials, after the Trump administration first rolled out and then withdrawn the coronavirus task force briefings.
Zients said the team he leads will try to restore trust with the American people.
The US is still in the throes of the pandemic with the highest number of daily deaths