Vaccine distribution: Trump administration is expected to change deployments

The Trump administration plans to release reserved second doses immediately, a senior administration official told CNN – a plan already announced by President-elect Joe Biden and first reported by CNN. The official expects reserved doses to be distributed over the next two weeks.

The change in guidelines, which is expected to be announced during Operation Warp Speed ​​during an information session on Tuesday, is a significant shift from the approach taken by the Trump administration, which previously did not release the available doses. Both the Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna vaccines require two rounds of injection, and while the release of almost all vaccine doses may become rapidly available, it can also run the risk of depleting the resources needed to ensure that people are fully vaccinated. word.

The changes come after two Operation Warp Speed ​​meetings held over the past 48 hours by Alex Azar, secretary of the HHS, on how to speed up the backlog process, according to the official. Vaccine production has not increased as fast as many experts had hoped.

Azar, who appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America” ​​on Tuesday morning, underestimated the importance of the move and called it “just a play” and moved on to the next phase of the vaccination program.

But as recently as last week, Operation Warp Speed ​​pushed back the Biden team’s plan to release all doses now.

“If President-elect Biden calls for the distribution of vaccines in the knowledge that there will be no second dose available, the decision is without science or data and is contrary to the FDA – approved label,” Michael said. Pratt, OWS spokesman, said Friday in light of Biden’s announcement. “If President Biden proposes that the maximum number of doses be made available, in line with the assurance that a second dose of vaccine will be there when the patient arrives, then that is already happening.”

They also rejected other ideas for expanding the vaccine supply, saying that people who speculate about the possibility of taking just one dose or reducing the dose in half misinterpret it.

“We followed the discussions and news reports about reducing the number of doses, extending the time period between doses, changing the dose (half-dose), or vaccinating and mixing vaccines to immunize more people against COVID-19, “FDA Commissioner, Dr. Stephen Hahn, and dr. Peter Marks, who heads the FDA vaccine division, said in a statement at the time.

Meanwhile, the coronavirus is on the rise across the United States. According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 200,000 new Covid-19 cases were reported each day each week in the past week, and the U.S. reported an average of more than 3,200 deaths per day during the period.