More than a million people have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in the United States, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Robert Redfield said Wednesday.
“The United States today reached an early but important milestone – jurisdictions have now reported that more than a million people have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine since administration began 10 days ago,” said Redfield.
In a call with reporters, Moncef Slaoui, the government’s chief adviser on Operation Warp Speed, said the target to immunize 20 million people this month “is unlikely to be met.”
But he said the US is still aiming for 100 million people who will be immunized by the end of the first quarter of 2021 and another 100 million by the second quarter.
Three million doses were delivered in the United States last week, with the first authorized vaccine, developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, delivered on Dec. 14.
This week, the goal was to distribute 6 million vaccine doses through Moderna and an additional 2 million Pfizers this week.
The US is the hardest hit country in the world and is in the midst of an extreme winter wave.
More than 320,000 people have succumbed to the virus, and it is likely to be the leading cause of death behind heart disease and cancer by 2020.
© Agence France-Presse