Biden under pressure to deliver more COVID-19 shots

President Biden faces pressure to aim even higher with his administration’s vaccine distribution targets, with experts noting that his early drive to deliver 100 million vaccines in 100 days does not differ drastically from the current pace.

The new administration hailed its vaccination target as “ambitious” and “bold”. But a group of voice experts say Biden’s target is actually far below what’s needed to tame the pandemic, especially with more contagious variants on the rise.

“100 million shots is 50 million people,” said Eric Topol, professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research, given that the two vaccines currently available require two doses. “It is totally insufficient.”

A more contagious variant first discovered in the UK could be the dominant strain in the US by March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned, pushing cases even higher and increasing stress for patients. hospitals. This makes vaccinations faster before and then even more urgent.

“It’s really the urgency that people don’t understand,” Topol said.

Biden officials have stressed that they will not stop the vaccinations if they reach the goal before the 100 days, so it is possible that the goal will end up being exceeded. However, experts say the goal is still important and the focus should be on delivering vaccines 24/7.

In part, the new administration is trying to set expectations that the pandemic will not turn around immediately and seeks to portray the Trump administration as having left it with little work on the vaccination effort.

“What we inherit is much worse than what we could have imagined”, Jeff ZientsJeff ZientsBiden under pressure to deliver more COVID-19 doses Fauci: We’re not starting from scratch on vaccine distribution These are executive orders Biden signed in the first three days of his tenure MOREBiden’s coronavirus response coordinator said on a call with reporters on Wednesday.

Anthony FauciAnthony FauciNight Health Care – Fauci: Lack of Facts ‘Likely’ Killed Coronavirus Fight | CDC Changes COVID-19 Vaccine Guidelines to Allow Rare Mix of Pfizer and Moderna | Senate chaos threatens to slow agenda for Biden Fauci exasperated by threats to family Poll: plurality of voters say coronavirus vaccine rollout slower than expected MORE, the government’s leading infectious disease expert, told reporters Thursday that the new administration is “amplifying” what the Trump administration has done through a more active federal role, but “we are certainly not starting from scratch.”

The Trump administration has been criticized by experts for assigning too much responsibility to states for the ‘last mile’ of receiving gunshots without sufficient federal support and for not providing sufficiently clear information on how much vaccine each state would receive and when.

Yet despite issues with the initial rollout, the pace of vaccinations in the United States had already climbed to near Biden’s goal of 1 million shots per day before his administration even took over. According to data compiled by Our World in Data, the United States averaged 911,000 snapshots per day on January 19, just below the mark Biden wanted.

“Don’t let the media and Democratic politicians turn things any differently,” Rep. Steve ScaliseStephen (Steve) Joseph ScaliseBiden inauguration marked by conflict of hope and fear Scalise bringing Donna Brazile as guest to the inauguration of Biden House GOP lawmaker: Trump ‘put all our lives in danger’ (La.), The Republican House Whip, tweeted on Thursday. “Biden’s vaccination plan is Trump’s vaccination plan. The United States was already on track for 100 million doses in 100 days. “

Paul Offit, vaccine expert at Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia, said the United States may need around 250 million people to get vaccinated to achieve herd immunity, when a sufficient population is immune so that the spread of the virus decreases considerably.

“For a two-dose vaccine, that’s 500 million doses, so when you talk about giving a million doses a day, we’re probably better off with around 3 million doses a day if we can make it happen,” he says. he. “A million doses a day is not enough to get there quickly.”

Biden turned defensive on Thursday when a reporter asked him if 100 million shots in 100 days was enough, given that the United States is already almost on pace to achieve that goal.

“When I announced it, you all said it wasn’t possible,” Biden said. “Come on. Give me a break, man. That’s a good start, 100 million.”

White House press secretary Jen psakiJen PsakiBiden under pressure to deliver more COVID-19 shots Biden, Trudeau agrees to meet next month Democrats seek answers on Russian cyberattack impact on Justice Department and courts MORE Friday said there was still room to exceed the target, but noted a range of headwinds, including vaccine reluctance and supply issues.

“If we get past that, that’s great,” she says. “We will also continue to work after the 100th day.”

The Biden administration is taking a number of steps to step up federal support for the immunization effort, regardless of the target set. Biden signed an order to more fully use the Defense Production Act to force companies to increase manufacturing of vaccine supplies.

One area of ​​interest is increasing the supply of special syringes that can extract an extra dose of vaccine that is in certain vials, thereby increasing the number of doses available.

The administration also plans to use the Federal Emergency Management Agency to set up federally managed vaccination sites, with the goal of 100 sites in the first month.

Questions also arise about the number of vaccine doses available. Pfizer and Moderna have each pledged to have 100 million doses for the United States by the end of March – twice as many as needed to meet Biden’s target – although it is possible that manufacturing problems can reduce these numbers.

Officials are hopeful that a third vaccine, from Johnson & Johnson, could be cleared in the coming weeks, which would provide an additional supply.

But officials in the Biden administration said they are still trying to figure out the supply situation and do not have exact projections from manufacturers.

The new administration is also looking to improve communication with heads of state, who have complained that the Trump team has not given them information about their allocations well in advance to plan well.

The clock is ticking, said Marc Lipsitch, an epidemiologist at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, given the spread of more contagious variants.

“They underline the real need to continue to accelerate the deployment as much as possible,” he said. “Because to some extent it’s a race between a more contagious virus and our ability to protect people.”