US Coronavirus: Officials ask for more doses of vaccine, as the death toll in the U.S. reaches 400,000

US Coronavirus: Officials ask for more doses of vaccine, as the death toll in the U.S. reaches 400,000

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As the numbers rise, experts and health officials are turning their attention to mitigating the impacts of the new variant that triggered the alarm and are calling for more intense vaccinations and preventive measures.

The number of people who died of the virus in the United States increased rapidly over the past year, reaching the dismal 400,000 mark on Tuesday. And while the rate of new cases has recently dropped, experts warn that a variant of the virus could cause cases to increase again.

“I am desperately concerned that in the next six to 12 weeks we will see a situation with this pandemic unlike anything we’ve seen so far,” said Michael Osterholm, coronavirus advisor to President-elect Joe Biden and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. from the University of Minnesota. “It will happen, we will see a huge increase in cases, the challenge is how many,” he told CNN on Tuesday.

When President-elect Joe Biden’s government takes office, Osterholm said he will do everything he can to increase distribution. But, he said, “we can’t get the vaccine to go much faster than now,” adding that officials will need to plan for dramatic action to keep the variant in check.

“The difference will be, ‘Are we going to react now or later?'” Said Osterholm. “Do we hit the brake after the car winds up on the tree or do we try to hit the brake before leaving the intersection?”

Officials say they need more vaccines

Calls for faster vaccine launches have raised questions about doses of the vaccine believed to be stored, concerns that infectious disease specialist Dr. Anthony Fauci said was a misunderstanding.

“In the beginning, when we wanted to make sure that everyone who received a dose would receive a second dose. Because of the uncertainty in the smooth distribution of doses that would be available, half the doses would be withheld so that people would be guaranteed to receive their second dose, “Fauci told CNN’s Jake Tapper newspaper on Tuesday.

Now, with more confidence in consistent distribution, the doses that were withheld were made available, said Fauci.

States complain that demand for Covid-19 vaccine is exceeding supply
In the United States, more than 10.5 million people received at least the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, about 1.6 million of whom received a second dose, according to CDC data updated last Friday.

But state and local officials fear that supply will not be enough to continue the momentum.

The San Francisco Department of Public Health announced that its supply will run out on Thursday if there is no additional quota. New York is due to end on the same day, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Tuesday.

“If we don’t get more vaccine quickly, we will have to cancel the appointments,” said de Blasio.

Due to the low supply of vaccines, Baptist Health South Florida canceled all vaccination appointments for anyone scheduled to receive the first dose starting on Wednesday.

Georgia is prepared for vaccines with volunteers and infrastructure, but there are not enough doses available in the state, said Georgia Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey.

“We have been receiving about 80,000 doses a week and that is not much for a state with 11 million people,” she said.

Will vaccines protect against the variant?

Experts warned that while the variant first identified in the UK does not appear to be more deadly, it is more easily transmissible. To date, more than 120 cases have been identified in 20 states, according to data from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Other variants were also found, including two in Brazil. Another appeared in California, but it is not known if it is contributing to renew the spread there.
These coronavirus variants are keeping scientists awake at night
A new study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, suggests that someone may be infected with one of the new variants of the coronavirus, even if they have already taken Covid-19 or been vaccinated.

But other experts are confident that vaccines will protect against the variant.

“The vaccine’s effectiveness is so good and so high that we have a little protection,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to JAMA editor-in-chief Howard Bauchner on Tuesday. market.

With a starting point of effectiveness of around 95%, Walensky said that even though vaccines are slightly less effective against new variants, they will still be more effective than most vaccines.

“It will work against the variant,” she said. “Is it 95%? Maybe. Is it 70%? Maybe. But our flu shots aren’t 75% effective every year and we still get them.”

CNN’s Christina Maxouris, Jason Hanna, Naomi Thomas, Jamiel Lynch, Kay Jones, Alexandra Meeks Elizabeth Cohen and Lauren Mascarenhas contributed to this report.

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