The U.S. needs to do better work with the introduction of Covid-19 vaccine, Assistant Secretary of Health Admiral Brett Giroir said Wednesday.
“Of course we need to work better, but all vaccination programs are starting somewhat slowly,” Giroir told CNN’s Jake Tapper.
He said he expects the spread to increase soon and that the US is on track to distribute 20 million doses of vaccine by the first week of January.
“I know we are going to distribute about 30 million more in January and possibly up to 50 million more in February,” he said.
As pharmacies begin to play a greater role in the administration of vaccines, Giroir said he expects the pace to accelerate.
“We have a federal contract with 40,000 pharmacies – that’s 60% of all pharmacies in the US – to supply vaccines,” Giroir said. “The scale will increase very quickly as things progress and develop.”
“Vaccinations on the shelf are not good,” he added. “They need to get into the arms of people and we leave no stone unturned to do so.”
Some backgrounds: Operation Warp Speed is on track to deliver the 20 million vaccine shots they predicted by the end of December.
Nearly 2.6 million doses of vaccines have been administered in the United States, according to data provided to CNN by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.