“You will see, in the coming weeks, a much greater escalation in the ability to put the vaccine in people’s arms,” Fauci said on Tuesday.
The launch of the COVID-19 vaccination had an “unstable start” in the United States, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci.
But Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is optimistic about the near future. “You will see, in the coming weeks, a much greater escalation in the ability to put the vaccine in people’s arms,” he said on Tuesday during a live event at the Washington Post.
Describing new cooperation, collaboration and synergy between the federal government, states and cities, Fauci said that strategies now underway to improve distribution include more involving pharmacies, setting up mass vaccination community centers and using mobile units to reach relatively areas. inaccessible – “focusing on the concept of equity to obtain, in particular, minority populations that may not have such easy access,” he said.
Addressing issues of vaccine caution in minority communities, said Fauci, is “critical” to achieving the goal of achieving so-called herd immunity – 70% to 85% of the vaccinated population – to prevent transmission in the community that allows coronavirus mutations happen.
These emerging variant strains, he said, pose a challenge that needs to be taken seriously.
“We need to be prepared to update the vaccines, if they evolve further to avoid the protective effect completely,” said Fauci.
The COVID-19 vaccines available so far have been shown to be effective against the UK coronavirus variant, which is now confirmed in 30 U.S. states with around 400 cases.
But the South African variant – B.1.351, which was detected in Maryland and South Carolina – is worrying, said Fauci, because it escapes the protective effect of vaccines to some extent.
“So instead of really good protection, it decreases it a little bit, but it is still within the protection range,” said Fauci.
To stay ahead of the mutations, Fauci said the country needs good surveillance to track them – perhaps with genome sequencing.
More news about Coronavirus
Looking for more information? DC, Maryland and Virginia are releasing more data every day. Visit their official websites here: Virginia | Maryland | A.D
Like the WTOP on Facebook and follow @WTOP on Twitter to chat about this article and others.
Get breaking news and daily headlines in your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2021 WTOP. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located in the European Economic Area.