“We really need to launch this vaccine more quickly, because this is really our only tool,” said Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, on CBS’s Face the Nation program on Sunday.
Experts have long argued that the best defenses against the increase in cases are preventive measures such as masks and social distance, as well as widespread vaccination. So far, at least 22.1 million doses of coronavirus vaccines have been distributed and nearly 6.7 million have reached the arms of patients. Health officials expected to vaccinate 20 million people at the beginning of the new year, but the vaccine administration suffered delays and roadblocks.
“We need to recognize that it is not working,” said Gottlieb of the vaccination plan. “We need to restart and adopt a new strategy in an attempt to bring this to patients.”
More people, sites and online resources for vaccines
As the increase increases the numbers of infection, hospitalization and mortality in the states, authorities are working to make access to vaccines easier.
California one epicenter of the pandemic in the US, added 49,685 new cases on Sunday alone, bringing the total number of cases in the state since the pandemic began to more than 2.6 million.
In New York City, officials hope to expand access through vaccination sites. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Sunday that three more vaccination sites 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, would open this week.
De Blasio spoke on Sunday of a website at the Bathgate Industrial Park, saying the city is “well underway” to reach 100,000 vaccinations by this week. He said earlier that he expects to have one million vaccinations completed by the end of the month.
The website will not allow scheduling, but will provide contact details so people can schedule vaccines as soon as available, according to the statement.
A more deadly pace than 2020
More than 28,400 new deaths from Covid-19 were reported in the first 11 days of 2021 alone, according to data from Johns Hopkins.
At that rate, more people could die from Covid-19 in January than in any other month of this pandemic. December had a record 77,431 deaths due to Covid-19.
On Sunday, the US reported 1,814 new deaths from Covid-19, along with 213,905 new infections, according to data from Johns Hopkins.
In Arizona, which has been hit hard, the crisis will worsen, said Joe K. Gerald, an associate professor at the University of Arizona’s Zuckerman College of Public Health.
“We must expect to establish new records of cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the coming weeks. Political action is urgently needed to mitigate the worst possible outcome, ”wrote Gerald.
“If it brings together a foothold, it will accelerate, lengthen and deepen the Arizona outbreak,” said Gerald.
Capitol disturbances are probably a ‘sudden event’ for Covid-19
“So, all these individuals are going in cars and trains and planes coming home across the country right now.”
CNN medical analyst and emergency physician Dr. Leana Wen echoed that statement, saying to CNN’s Ana Cabrera on Sunday: “Individuals who have not worn masks or social distance on Capitol Hill are also likely not following these guidelines when they return to their communities . “
“And it is very likely that they are engaging in other risky behaviors and potentially spreading the coronavirus across the country, wherever they come from,” she said. “I hope that everyone who participated in these events will come back, quarantine and take the test.”
CNN’s Holly Yan, Hollie Silverman, Naomi Thomas, Cheri Mossburg, Jenn Selva and Evan McMorris-Santoro contributed to this report.