Amid criticism of an increasing number of unused coronavirus vaccines that are on the shelves nationwide, a federal official said Wednesday that older and defenseless Americans need to be vaccinated.
“States can also accelerate the administration of vaccines by now delivering vaccinations to wider populations,” Alex Azar, secretary of Human and Health Services, said during a briefing. “There is no reason for states to vaccinate all healthcare providers before opening vaccinations to older Americans or other particularly vulnerable populations.”
Although a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has advised leading medical professionals and long-term care functions to come first, states ultimately decide who should be first in line for vaccinations. The panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), noted earlier that there is likely to be an overlap between the phases.
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Azar refers to a call with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who said the state would prefer vaccination to 65-year-olds and older, in a move to federal recommendations.
DeSantis told Fox News’ Tucker Carlson on Tuesday that Florida was the first state in the U.S. to start vaccinating residents of long-term care facilities and the wider 65-year-old population.
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During the Wednesday briefing, Azar said it would be better to vaccinate individuals with a lower priority than to allow vaccination to continue.
“It would be much better to move quickly and eventually vaccinate people with a lower priority than to have vaccines put in while states try to manage this process,” Azar said. “Faster administration can currently save lives, which means we can not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”
Azar said the rate of vaccinations has “increased significantly” over the past few days, and he joins other top federal officials in the hope that the rate of vaccinations will accelerate rapidly in the coming weeks. Indeed, dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, expressed great hope during a call on Wednesday for a speedy vaccination rate in the coming weeks amid resounding criticism of a slow nationwide vaccination effort.
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Messonnier said the new vaccines have been launched around the holidays, and now that the holidays are over, she expects the vaccination rate to escalate really fast.
According to Thursday morning, the U.S. distributed more than 17.3 million doses and threw at least 5.3 million doses into Americans’ arms, according to information compiled by the CDC.