The Trump administration will encourage states to broaden access to Covid-19 vaccines as part of an effort to speed up a stumbling vaccination campaign.
U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said health officials on Tuesday would urge the states to expand the availability of shots for anyone over the age of 65, regardless of the underlying conditions that could put them at greater risk for serious illness. in an interview with Fox & Friends.
According to the Surgeon, the US will also no longer withhold the second doses of the vaccine to make more shots available immediately.
“We have enough reserves that we can start pushing the doses right there,” Adams said.
Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, will send a letter to governors Tuesday that makes the recommendations, according to two U.S. officials who spoke before the decision was announced. The planned announcement, first reported by Axios follows President-elect Joe Biden’s promise to release more of the available vaccine supply.
Operation Warp Speed, Trump’s vaccine development and distribution initiative, has withheld some doses of the two-shot vaccines to ensure those who received one could get their second.
Earlier: Biden says he will release more vaccine in second dose gambling
Biden’s office said last week that it would not continue to discuss doses for second shots in response to the slower-than-expected vaccination rate in the US.
One government official said the federal government was also sending $ 3 billion to support the distribution of vaccines and offered technical assistance to build larger vaccination sites.
Read more: US vaccine hurts due to incorrect coordination, messages
After developing Covid vaccines in record time, Warp Speed is criticized for a slow start in the administration of shots. Meanwhile, the inconsistent messages about public health, a maze of different state health strategies and new variants of the virus that may be more contagious.
Vaccinations rise
Yet the vaccination rate is increasing. The number of doses administered in the US rose by 1.25 million on Monday, a according to Bloomberg’s vaccination detection, daily profit, up to 9.27 million.
Some governors have already chosen to open access to wider groups of people. For example, any resident of Georgia, Florida, Texas, Delaware or Ohio who is 65 years or older can sign up for a shot. But other states are sticking more closely to the recommendations made by a panel of CDC advisers late last year that prioritize leading health care workers and residents and staff of long-term care facilities. Those guidelines will not be changed, one official said.
The patchwork of state rules has led to confusion about who is eligible to receive vaccinations. While the high demand in some states led to long queues and clogged appointment books, other states struggled to deploy the shots they received from Operation Warp Speed.
According to Monday, Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina used only 20% to 30% of the doses sent, according to them, according to the Bloomberg vaccination track. At the same time, North and South Dakota, Connecticut and West Virginia moved about two-thirds of their inventory.
The Pfizer vaccine has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in people aged 16 and older, while the Moderna vaccine is for 18 and older.
– With the help of Angelica LaVito, Drew Armstrong and Jordan Fabian
(Updates with additional details and context all the time)