The Trump administration will encourage states to expand access to Covid-19 vaccines as part of an effort to accelerate a disastrous vaccination campaign.
Health officials will pressure states to expand vaccine availability to anyone over 65, regardless of the underlying conditions that could put them at greater risk for serious illness, and anyone under 65 with that condition, he said. the surgeon general of the USA, Jerome Adams. in an interview with Fox & Friends.
The United States will also no longer withhold second doses of the vaccine to make more injections available immediately, according to Surgeon General.
“We have enough reserves to start delivering these doses,” said Adams.
Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will send a letter to the governors making the recommendations on Tuesday, according to two American officials who spoke before the decision was made public. The planned ad, first reported by Axios, follows the promise of President-elect Joe Biden to release more of the available vaccine supply.
Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s vaccine development and distribution initiative, had been withholding some doses of the two-dose vaccines in an attempt to ensure that those who received one can get the second.
Previously: Biden said he will launch more vaccine in the second dose game
Biden’s office said last week that it would not continue to reserve doses for the second injection in response to the slower-than-expected vaccination rate in the U.S.
A government official said the federal government is also sending $ 3 billion to support vaccine distribution and offers technical assistance to help establish larger vaccination sites.
Read more: US vaccine implementation hampered by defective coordination, messages
After developing Covid vaccines in record time, Warp Speed was criticized for a slow start in vaccine administration. In the meantime, inconsistent public health messages, a maze of varied state health strategies and new variants of the virus that may be more communicable are complicating the effort.
Vaccination on the rise
Still, the vaccination rate is increasing. The count of doses administered in the U.S. increased by 1.25 million on Monday, a record daily gain to 9.27 million, according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker.
Some governors have already chosen to open access to broader groups of people. For example, any resident of Georgia, Florida, Texas, Delaware or Ohio who is 65 or older can apply for a photo. But other states have more closely adhered to recommendations made by a panel of CDC advisors at the end of last year, which prioritize frontline health professionals and residents and staff from long-term care facilities. That the guidelines will not be changed, said an official.
The patchwork of state rules has created confusion about who is eligible to receive vaccines. While the high demand has led to long lines and clogged appointment books in some states, others find it difficult to fire the shots they received from Operation Warp Speed.
On Monday, Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina used only 20% to 30% of the doses sent to them, according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker. At the same time, North and South Dakota, Connecticut and West Virginia moved about two-thirds of their inventory.
The Pfizer vaccine is authorized by the Food and Drug Administration for use in people aged 16 and over, while the Modern vaccine is for people aged 18 and over.
– With the help of Angelica LaVito, Drew Armstrong and Jordan Fabian
(Updates with additional details and context throughout)