US coronavirus: Officials call for more vaccine doses as US death toll exceeds 400,000

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As the numbers rise, health experts and officials have turned their attention to mitigating the effects of the new variant that has triggered alarm, calling for incremental vaccinations and preventive measures.

The number of people in the US who have died of the virus has soared over the past year, reaching Tuesday’s stark 400,000. And while the number of new cases has dropped recently, experts warn that a variant of the virus could cause cases to rise again.

“I am desperately concerned that over the next six to 12 weeks we will see a situation with this pandemic that we have not seen so far,” said Michael Osterholm, a coronavirus advisor to President-elect Joe Biden and director of the Center for Research and Development. Infectious Disease Policy at the University of Minnesota. “This will happen, we will see a great increase in the number of cases, the challenge is how many,” he told CNN on Tuesday.

When President-elect Joe Biden’s government took office, Osterholm said it will do everything it can to strengthen distribution. But, he said, “we can’t get the vaccine to run much faster than it is now,” adding that officials should plan for dramatic measures to contain the variant.

“The difference will be, ‘Are we going to respond now or later?’” Said Osterholm. “Do we train on the brakes after the car is wrapped around the tree, or do we try to brake before we leave the intersection?”

Officials say they need more vaccines

Calls for faster vaccine rollouts have raised questions about doses of the vaccine believed to be stored, concerns that infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci is a misunderstanding.

“In the beginning, when we wanted to make sure that everyone who got one dose would get a second dose. Because of the uncertainty about the smooth rollout of the available doses, half the doses would be withheld. would get, ”Fauci told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Tuesday.

Now, with more confidence in its consistent distribution, those doses that were withheld have been made available, Fauci said.

States complain that demand for the Covid-19 vaccine is outstripping supply
In the US, more than 10.5 million people have received at least the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, of whom about 1.6 million have received a second dose, according to CDC data updated last Friday.

But state and local officials are concerned that the supply will not be enough to continue the momentum.

San Francisco’s Department of Public Health has announced that supply will be exhausted Thursday if there is no additional allocation. New York will run out the same day, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday.

“If we don’t get more vaccines soon, we will have to cancel appointments,” said de Blasio.

Because of their low vaccine stock, Baptist Health South Florida has canceled all vaccination appointments for anyone who would receive a first dose from Wednesday.

Georgia was set up for vaccines with staff and infrastructure volunteers, but there aren’t enough doses available in the state, said Dr. Kathleen Toomey, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Health.

“We get about 80,000 doses a week and that’s not much for a state with 11 million people,” she said.

Will the vaccines protect against the variant?

Experts have warned that while the variant first identified in the UK does not appear to be more deadly, it is more easily transmitted. So far, more than 120 cases have been identified in 20 states, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Other variants have also been found, including two in Brazil. Another has appeared in California, but it is not known if it contributes to a renewed distribution there.
These coronavirus variants keep scientists awake at night
A new study, which is not yet to be peer-reviewed, suggests that someone could potentially become infected with one of the new variants of the coronavirus, even if they have previously had Covid-19 or been vaccinated.

But other experts believe the vaccines will protect against the variant.

“The vaccine efficacy is so good and so high that we have a bit of a pillow,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, incoming director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told JAMA editor-in-chief Howard Bauchner Tuesday.

With a starting point of about 95% efficacy, Walensky said that even if the vaccines are slightly less effective against new variants, they will still be more effective than most vaccines.

“It’s going to work against the variant,” she said. “Will it be 95%? Maybe. Will it be 70%? Maybe. But our flu vaccines are not 75% effective every year and we still get them.”

Christina Maxouris, Jason Hanna, Naomi Thomas, Jamiel Lynch, Kay Jones, Alexandra Meeks Elizabeth Cohen and CNN’s Lauren Mascaren contributed to this report.

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