Admiral Brett Giroir, the White House coronavirus testing czar, expressed confidence that a new, more infectious strain of the vaccine detected in the UK is no more deadly than the most common strain.
“We don’t know if he is here or not, there is certainly a possibility that he is here or not,” said Giroir on Fox News Sunday. “It is no more serious than normal COVID stains. You can still protect yourself by mitigation measures … we have no evidence to suggest, nor do we believe that the vaccine would be effective. “
Giroir added that “we would certainly encourage states to have requests for quarantine or testing as soon as these travelers arrive” from the UK, but noted the existing protocols for travelers from the UK and continental Europe that are already in place.
Asked whether public health officials predicted an increase in infection as a result of the holiday season, Giroir said: “It really depends on what travelers do when they get to where they are going.”
“We know that the actual physical act of traveling on airplanes, for example, can be quite safe,” he added. “What really worries us is the mixture of bubbles when you arrive at your destination.”
Giroir also discussed the continued distribution of vaccines and said there could be problems with President Trump
Donald TrumpPost’s office will be named after Pearl Harbor’s oldest veteran federal agents seeking residence in Antioch in connection with the Nashville explosion. government continues vaccine launch MORE receive the vaccine immediately due to the presence of monoclonal antibodies after your own fight with the virus.
However, he said, “President Trump, for your own protection and to set an example for the 75 million people who voted for him, I think it’s a great idea.”
Asked when the vaccine is likely to be available to anyone who wants it, Giroir said “Even with just the vaccines we have now, we still hope that any American who wants a vaccine can be vaccinated by June … this is really exciting.”