'I believe it's doable': Dr. Fauci backs Biden's plan to administer 100M vaccine doses in 100 days as daily death toll hits 3,258 and president-elect says he will use FEMA and the National Guard to 'jumpstart' efforts to inoculate people
Infection disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci says President-Elect Biden's plan to dole out 100million coronavirus doses in 100 days is 'doable' and the goal is 'quite feasible.'
Biden unveiled the ambitious goal Thursday as part of his $1.9trillion 'American Rescue Plan,' which includes about $400billion to tackle COVID-19.
The 100million dose in 100 days target is a dramatic increase from where the US currently stands in terms of vaccinations.
Despite having more than 31.1million doses of the vaccine available across the country, as of Friday morning, only about 12.2million shots have actually been administered, the CDC said.
Dr. Anthony Fauci said that President-Elect Biden's goal of giving out 100million vaccination doses in 100 days is 'quite feasible'
Fauci noted that the CDC widen its guidelines of who is eligible for priority vaccinations will help achieve this goal. A woman is show getting a COVID vaccination on January 10
On Friday, more than 3,258 COVID deaths and 209,560 new confirmed cases were reported in the US, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Fauci said Friday in an interview with Today that the vaccine rollout has 'not worked as smoothly as possible.'
He noted that distributing the vaccine during the holiday season accounted for some of the difficulty, as did the fact that there was too much rigidity in terms of prioritizing who had been allowed to get the vaccine.
Now, he said, there is flexibility being allowed in the prioritization of who can receive doses, which will enable the doses to be given out when available, rather than being left in the fridge.
'If you have a dose, give it and don’t be so rigid as to those early designations,' Fauci said, pointing towards the CDC's recent vaccination guideline revisions, which expanded the pool of people being prioritized for doses to anyone 65 and older, as well as those with comorbid conditions, like diabetes.
'You’ve got to have a good flow and you've got to be able to expeditiously get it into people’s arms,' Fauci said of the vaccine.
He anticipates that going forward, there will be more coordination between federal and local governments in terms of creating a more robust vaccination infrastructure.
Fauci said that he believed Biden's plan of getting out 100million vaccinations in 100 days is 'doable' and 'quite feasible' because about 500,000 to 750,000 vaccinations are currently being carried out a day.
Biden said that he will be working with FEMA and the National Guard to help build vaccination centers and get the vaccine distributed
Once about 70 to 85 per cent of the US population gets vaccinated, Fauci said, it could lead to 'that umbrella of herd immunity.'
If that happens, then, 'you'll start to see a serious turnaround of infections, so people can feel, and I think it is possible, after several months of doing this, that we can start to approaching some form of normality,' Fauci said.
Biden detailed his plans to 'quickly jumpstart' the number of vaccinations being given out on Friday, including using FEMA and the National Guard to build coronavirus vaccine clinics across the country.
He said that by using the Defense Production Act, he would be able to boost supplies of the vaccine by prioritizing the manufacture of supplies needed for packaging the vaccine which could otherwise cause bottlenecks in its distribution.
He also said that he would be working with FEMA to set up 100 vaccination centers across the country by the end of his first month in office.
These centers would be able to mobilize thousands of clinical and non-clinical staff and contractors who will work hand-in-glove with the National Guard and state and local teams.
The government would also fully reimburse state deployment of the National Guard to support vaccinations and provide additional FEMA assistance. Many states are planning to use their National Guard to support vaccine distribution efforts, including to support critical transportation and logistics functions.
The CDC now says people over the age of 65 and those with comorbid conditions, like diabetes, are now eligible for the coronavirus vaccine. A woman gets her dose on January 15
Biden said that he would use the Defense Production Act to help boost supplies of the vaccine by prioritizing the manufacture of supplies needed for packaging the vaccine. A nurse is seen prepping a syringe for vaccination on January 15
Biden also said that his administration would make vaccines more available at local pharmacies across the country, making it easier for people to get their shots.
The National Association of Chain Drug Stores estimated that its retail pharmacies could give out at least as many as 100 million doses of vaccines per month across the country, which would be more than Biden's 100 day goal, CNBC reported.
Biden said Friday that 'We remain in a very dark winter' and that 'Almost a year later we’re still far from back to normal. The honest truth is this: Things will get worse before they get better.'
He noted that 'The policy changes that we’re going to be making are going to take time to show up in the COVID statistics. It’s not just statistics, it’s people’s lives.'
Biden said that his plan to reach 100million vaccine doses given out in 100 days was 'as clear as it is bold.'
'This will be one of the most challenging operation efforts ever undertaken by our country, but you have my word. We will manage the hell out of this operation,' Biden said.
As of Friday, there have been 23.6million coronavirus infections and 393,711 deaths attributed to coronavirus in the US reported since the pandemic began.