Senior epidemiologist says Biden administration should focus on first doses of vaccine

WASHINGTON – Michael Osterholm, a senior epidemiologist who has advised President Joe Biden’s transition team on the coronavirus pandemic, said on Sunday that the United States should “call an audible” with its vaccination schedule, prioritizing a rush to give a single dose to as many people as possible. possible before a probable increase in cases attributed to more contagious mutations of the virus.

Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, told “Meet the Press” he expects to see a new outbreak of infections “in the next six to 14 weeks.” , thanks to the spread of new variants like the one discovered in the United Kingdom. Looking at an increase in hospitalizations in the UK as this new variant spread, he predicted that another surge in the US would result in “something like we haven’t seen in this country yet.”

“We still want to get two doses for everyone, but I think right now, before this surge, we need to give as many single doses as possible to as many people over 65 as possible, in order to reduce the serious illnesses and deaths that will occur over the coming weeks, ”Osterholm said.

Currently, the two coronavirus vaccines approved for emergency use require two doses spaced a few weeks apart, but studies show that the vaccines offer significant protection after a single dose. A Johnson & Johnson vaccine candidate, which could be cleared in the coming weeks, requires just one dose.

Olsterholm likened the current situation to chasing a hurricane.

“The hurricane is coming. Because of this push, we have to call an audible, ”he said.

“If we get a certain number of first doses in people, especially those aged 65 and over, there is really a lot we can do to reduce the number of serious illnesses and deaths in the next big wave to come.” is coming. “

The number of daily coronavirus cases has declined in recent days. After eclipsing 200,000 new cases in 15 out of 16 days in early January, the United States has reported fewer than 200,000 new cases each day since January 18, according to an NBC News analysis. But new daily deaths have almost peaked in recent days, eclipsing 3,600 in four of the past five days.

Healthcare workers in America have administered more than 30 million vaccines to date, according to the NBC News immunization tracker.

President Joe Biden, even before his inauguration, announced his goal of vaccinating 100 million people in 100 days. But America hit that rate in the dying days of the Trump administration, and last week Biden said he believed America could soon administer 1.5 million vaccines every day, a rate that, according to Bloomberg, was hit three times last week.

Even so, the vaccine rollout has at times been chaotic, with states reporting shortages and many Americans expressing frustration with the availability in their communities. Public health officials are hoping that new vaccines, like the one developed by Johnson & Johnson, along with increased production of currently available vaccines, could help speed up the distribution process.