Fauci says all Americans could start getting vaccinated in April

Dr Anthony S. Fauci, President Biden’s chief medical adviser for Covid-19, said Thursday that most members of the general public could become eligible to get the coronavirus vaccine as early as April.

“As we move into March and April, the number of doses available will allow for a much more massive vaccination approach,” he said in an interview with “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie.

So far, states have prioritized vaccines for the elderly and healthcare workers and essential workers, as well as residents of long-term care facilities. Dr Fauci has said in the past that vaccine availability will likely increase dramatically in the spring.

“I imagine when we get to April it will be what I would call, for better wording, ‘open season’,” he said Thursday. “Namely, virtually anyone and anyone in any category could start getting the vaccine.”

It would take “several more months” for vaccines to be in the arms of most people, he said, adding that he hoped the overwhelming majority of people in the United States could be vaccinated by now. mid to late summer.

Although the distribution of vaccines in the United States has so far been plagued by confusion, difficulties and delays, the average number of vaccines administered daily has been increasing steadily since the end of December. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 1.56 million doses were given as of Wednesday, bringing the latest seven-day average to more than 1.5 million per day.

The supply of vaccines is also increasing, although it is still far below demand. Moderna and Pfizer, whose vaccines have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, have gradually increased their production. The FDA may clear a single-dose vaccine from Johnson & Johnson later this month, and other vaccines from Novavax and AstraZeneca may also be cleared in the United States in the spring.